


Flight of the Nightingale

by dug_bishop



Series: Nightingale/Young Justice Series [1]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-06-01 11:52:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15142490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dug_bishop/pseuds/dug_bishop
Summary: Hailey Mason has never been a team player. Always flying solo, she's absolutely appalled when she's approached to join the Justice League's secretive team of young heroes. But her mentor, the famous Black Canary, pushes her to join and soon her life becomes a swirling pool of lies and deception. With an ominous force striving to tear everything in her life apart, Hailey feels like the whole world is against her. And then, Richard Grayson steps into her life. And things get even more complicated.





	1. Prologue

The night was dark and stormy: rain pelted down, drenching Hailey’s pulled up hair. Her masked eyes scanned across the horizon of Star City, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Her costume-- a compression suit that held everything in place, and tended to give her a more masculine look-- was just as soaked and she was freezing to the bone; but, she stayed still determined to remain vigilant. Someone stepped up next to her.

“Find anything interesting?”

Hailey glanced over at her mentor, Dinah Lance-- the Black Canary. Hailey only shook her head as she returned her gaze out to the edge of the city.

“It’s quiet tonight,” she murmured, almost relieved; she had a lot of homework to do. Dinah chuckled before resting a hand on Hailey’s shoulder.

“I heard you’re moving,” she said kindly, almost hesitantly.

Hailey sighed. “Yeah.”

“When?”

Hailey paused before she responded. “Next week. After school ends.”

“Can I still count on you showing up for patrol?” Dinah asked.

Hailey shot her a confused look before breaking out into a huge grin. “Always.”

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

It was about three in the morning when Dinah dropped Hailey off at a Zeta Tube.

“You be safe in school,” Dinah reminded Hailey, repeating the same spiel that she gave her ward every night. Hailey rolled her eyes a little but let a sly smile slide up her face as Dinah continued.

“Text me if anything comes up. Don’t into any trouble. Get your homework done early this time. Keep your head down. Always be watching your back. Don’t do anything stupid. And most importantly-”

“I know I know.” Hailey dismissed. “Don’t get caught.” Dinah smiled slightly as she nodded. She pulled the young girl in close, holding her tightly hardly having the intent of letting her go.

“Let me know if you need anything,” Dinah whispered into the younger girl’s hair. “Nothing is too small.”

Hailey sighed contently into Dinah’s chest. “Thanks, Dinah.”

After Diana sent her young ward through the Tube, a whoosh of fabric and a heavy thud alerted her that she had a visitor.

She glanced at the tall, dark man who rose from the shadows and stood defiantly a few feet away: Dinah’s eyes locked on to the white contacts that were placed into his mask to further ensure that he was a mystery.

But not too much of a mystery, not to Dinah and those who knew him. “Batman.” The Dark Knight grunted in recognition before silence fell over the two of them again. Not long after, Dinah’s husband Oliver dropped by and Batman started talking.

“You know why we’re here,” he said in his gravelly voice addressing Dinah.

“She’s not ready,” Dinah argued.

“She seems to be pretty ready,” Oliver argued. “I’ve seen her in action. She works well with you.”

“Yes with me,” Dinah stated, becoming very defensive. “There’s no telling how she’ll act with the other members.”

“She’ll be fine,” Oliver tried to comfort his wife but she brushed him off.

She sighed before looking back at the Dark Knight. “Maybe she is ready technically. But she’s not ready mentally.”

Batman was silent before responded with a bone-chilling, “she can be taught”.

“She needs to discover it herself,” Dinah demanded instantly. “I will not allow her to throw herself into battle with-”

“With the same kids, you’ve been training,” Oliver tried again to comfort his stressed wife. “Dinah, they’re good kids.”

“I know they are,” she snapped. “She just not ready.”

Batman grumbled a little, but it almost came out as a growl which caused Dinah to widen her eyes in shock before she narrowed them in frustration. “There seems to be an ever-growing need for other heroes Dinah.”

“Bruce please,” Dinah begged. “She needs some time. To just… figure some things out.”

The Dark Knight stood still and silent as a stone before he sighed. “She can’t figure things out if you keep sheltering her.”

“She needs to be sheltered,” Dinah muttered.

“I think she needs to be around people who are closer to her age. Who have gone through or are going through what she is experience,” Oliver piped up, quietly and comfortingly. “Dinah… Hon, she needs people who can relate and understand her.”

“ _I_ relate and understand her,” Dinah argued half-heartedly: she could feel herself losing the fight.

Bruce narrowed his eyes before he spoke. “Dinah. It’s time. She’s as ready as you can make her.” Dinah swallowed before she nodded hesitantly.

“I’m not sending her on any missions until I know that she comfortable,” she stated.

Her husband just laughed and Bruce even cracked a smile.

“Something tells me,” he started, “given the track record, she’ll be going on missions whether you like it or not.” Dinah hummed in agreement before she stared blankly at a wall. She couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that was overpowering her.

_Something bad’s going to happen. **She could feel it.**_


	2. Chapter 1

The car ride was long and boring and Hailey wasn’t all that interested in whatever her cousin was saying next to her. Sarah kept on chattering on about how excited she was to move and how the two of them were finally going to the same school. Hailey couldn’t care less: she had other things on her mind.

Hailey had been living with her Aunt Clare and Uncle Ethan ever since her mother passed on eleven years ago. Their daughter, Sarah, was about the same age as Hailey, with the former being just a few days shy of being six months older.

“Are you even listening to me?” Sarah demanded, lightly slapping Hailey’s arm to get her attention. Hailey shot her cousin a tired look before she rubbed her eyes.

“Leave the poor girl alone,” the person sitting across from Sarah laughed. Hailey glanced at him: Justin Adkins. The tall adolescent sat with a velvety smirk wiped on his face as his mocha arms and legs were crossed. His dark brown eyes, which often sparkled in amusement, regarded the blonde and chatty girl sitting across from him with a pleasant and easy-going gaze.

“She’s probably had a late night,” Justin defended Hailey confidently. Hailey hummed in agreement before turning her attention back out the window as the cityscape flew by.

“Goodbye Boston,” she muttered just loud enough for the other two to hear her.

“Hello Gotham,” Sarah finished, a look comprised of nostalgia, awe, and pure wonder displayed on her round porcelain facial features. Her hair came down in thick, blonde, and wavy beach curls with captivating blue eyes that shimmered even in darkness. She and Hailey were almost the exact opposite: Sarah was beautiful and confident--Hailey constantly looked like she had just woken up after having a night out with a barn owl and reeked of insecurities. Sarah had consistently-- and most likely will continue to be consistent-- told Hailey that she thought she was gorgeous but Sarah’s her cousin; she’s supposed to say things like that. Hailey had mid-length-- often messy-- dark auburn hair with slight waves patterning it. Her dark eyes tended to dart around quickly and suspiciously, constantly scanning and surveilling. Sarah told her that she needs to relax and look less paranoid but it had just become a force of habit.

“Y’all aren’t the least bit worried?” a voice piped up from the passenger’s seat. Jesse Adkins-- James’ paternal twin brother, the two of them practically identical in every sense of the word-- turned around with wide brown eyes and a panicked looked. Hailey raised an eyebrow and cracked the first-- though small-- smile for that day.

“You are?” she teased. Jesse shot her a glare.

‘ _Not_ _ALL_ _of us can be heroes missy._ ’

‘ _You’re right. Some of us_ _SHOULD_ _be heroes._ ’

Hailey had heard the argument a thousand times but she was too stubborn to change her mind; she may not have power but they did. Sarah, Jesse, James: all three of them. Hailey, though she was the only night grinder (as Claire liked to call vigilantes such as Hailey), was the only one out of the four of them to be powerless. Sarah was the telepath who was kind enough to establish a mental link between the four of them, something that is hardly broken unless out of her range. James was the strongman, doing most of the heavy lifting when need. And Jesse… well, Jesse was a shifter able to manipulate his body into any living form he pleases. The three of them knew about Hailey second life as a ward to Black Canary, and-- while they were against it at first-- they grew to accept it and tried to cover Hailey whenever she needed.

“Ah, you kids,” Hailey’s uncle called from the front seat. “Always with your constant bickering.” Ethan Knight was a friendly looking man, with dusty salt and pepper hair ripened with age and deep creases near his light eyes that folded nicely whenever he smiled or laughed which, more often than not, he was doing. He had strong shoulders and broad back with the same uplifting and can-do attitude that Sarah possessed. He looked a lot like his daughter and the two of them often got along splendidly. He was trustworthy and the only father figure Hailey had for a long time and she told him everything; expect her crusades across building tops, catching criminals and saving lives. As thankful as Hailey was to Ethan and Claire for taking her in and raising her, she wasn’t ready to tell them about the dangerous past time she took part in: they would undoubtedly flip and handcuff her to a chair and lock her in the basement.

“I’m kind of excited,” Sarah whispered to her cousin eagerly. “There’s so much excitement in this city.”

“If by excitement you mean deadly criminals,” Hailey commented, pursing her lips. “Then yeah, I guess you could say that.”

As if to prove my point, a cop car raced by on the opposite side of the road. Sarah received a pointed look from Hailey as the two of them carefully watched the car zoom past.

‘ _You’re still just going to Star City to help right?_ ’ Sarah asked mentally.

‘ _Yes, Sarah._ ’

Justin joined in the conversation: ‘ _Hailey. You know we’re all worried about you, right?_ ’

Hailey was silent as she stared out across the water: she did know. She had been becoming more reclusive as time went on, oftentimes hardly ever leaving her room except for school, patrol, and the occasional outing with the other three, and she had started skipping meals. She gritted her teeth when her mind pulled up the reason: that man. The dark figure. The one that haunted her nightmares.

Hailey shook her head, trying to push him out of her head. Aw who was she kidding: he would be stuck at the forefront of her brain for the rest of her life. Sarah seemed to notice her expression because she gently placed a hand on Hailey’s arm. She only brushed it off and continued to look out the window.

“I hope you kids have fun living here,” Ethan commented. “I know it’s not exactly the best place to live but Sarah’s right we need to look at this with a positive attitude!” Hailey raised an eyebrow as her uncle continued with his naïve optimistic speech.

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

The penthouse was larger than the one they had lived in Boston. As Hailey carted around the personal suitcase that she had been required to pack, she looked around the large family room. Her aunt, Claire, stood ready and waiting for the four of them to show up. She was a taller lady, thinner than a pencil and short dark hair. Her roots were an unnaturally dark color for the rest of her hair and she possessed a lot fewer smile lines than her husband. Long acrylic nails hung off the tips of her fingers and her heels reflected their waxy color onto the mirrored white tile that was in the penthouse.

“Welcome home!” she greeted cheerfully as she opened her arms and gestured to the living room. Getting no response from the four kids, she sighed.

“Can you at least pretend to be excited?” she asked. Sarah clapped in an attempt to make her mother pleased and Hailey let a small and half-hearted ‘woo’.

Claire pouted before sending the kids off to their new rooms. Hailey’s was a fairly large size and she was excited to see that it lead out to a small balcony. As she investigated the small area further, she discovered an easy climbing path to the roof and a drop down to the fire escape: it wasn’t a small drop and Hailey decided not to sneak out that way. There was a knocking on the door and Hailey peered back into the room to see Claire standing in the doorway.

“Hi Hon,” she murmured softly. “Do you like it?”

Hailey smiled graciously and nodded. “It’s very nice. Thank you, Claire.”

Claire’s face fell a little: she had mentioned to Hailey multiple times to call her ‘Mom’ but Hailey could never bring herself to do it. That was years ago but Hailey guessed that it still hurt to hear it from her. Hailey looked down at the floor in shame but looked back up when Claire started speaking again.

“Your uncle and I have a meeting to attend this evening,” she started but Hailey cut her off.

“Already?” she said, a bit impatient and a bit pissed. Claire had never stopped working: she had been like that for as long as Hailey had lived with them.

“I know Hon,” Claire said. “But it’s necessary.”

Hailey didn’t say anything but looked back out to city from her balcony.

“I’ll tell you what,” Claire said quickly, almost panicked. “You kids can come to the company building tomorrow to explore.”

Hailey wanted to argue, to tell Claire how stupid that was, but Hailey could hear the strain in her voice; she was really trying hard to connect with her niece that she hardly ever saw. Hailey paused before a gentle wind blew by, a gentle murmur that seemed to tell her to agree.

Finally, Hailey nodded. “That sounds nice.” Claire gasped in excitement and clapping joyfully.

“I’ll see you later then hon,” she practically sang. And then she turned on her heel and left. The same breeze blew by and Hailey’s fingers found themselves wrapping around a small, cheap pendant that hung around her neck.

_Mom_ , Hailey thought. Though she was high up and it was quite chilly up there, Hailey felt herself being wrapped in a blanket of warmth, almost as if her mother was there with her again. She shut her eyes, wishing to stay in that position forever held in her mother’s imaginary arms, but flung them back open when she heard Sarah start shouting.

She walked out to the living room where Sarah and Justin sat on the couch, laughing hysterically. Sarah sat on one side, trying to get away from the sock that Justin had on his hand, and Justin was slowly moving closer and closer to her, a huge cheeky grin on his face.

“Get that thing away from my face!” Sarah screeched in absolute delight.

“I’m Mister Sock!” Justin said in a goofy voice. “I just want to be your friend.” Sarah laughed loudly again while Justin was slowly corning her deeper into the couch. A few more seconds and he would directly over her, a position Hailey knew would be awkward for the both of them.

“Ah my brother the flirt,” Jesse muttered beside Hailey, clearly having the same process that she did. She glanced over at him with a sly look in her eyes and recognized the teasing, yet jealous, look in his eyes.

“You’ll get your chance soon enough,” she told him, confidently. “We’ll find a nice, pretty, and smart-”

“Shh!” Jesse whispered suddenly, slapping a hand over Hailey’s mouth. “Don’t say it! Claire and Ethan are still here.”

Hailey pulled his hand off with a frown. “You haven’t told them? I thought you were doing that last week?”

Jesse looked sheepishly down at the floor. “I backed out.”

Hailey stared at him in disbelief before she sighed. “Oh, Jes.”

“Bye kids we’re leaving!” Ethan called, drawing all their attention to the front door. “Make sure you unpack. Have fun! But don’t leave the penthouse.”

‘ _He means you, Hailey_ ,’ Jesse teased over the link.

‘ _Oh shut it, Adkins Jr._ ,’ Hailey retorted.

‘ _That’s not true!_ ’ Jesse pushed. ‘ _I’m older than Justin!_ ’

‘ _In your dreams pretty boy,_ ’ Justin replied.

‘ _How you are the two of you again?_ ’ Sarah badgered with a smug look on her face.

‘ _Older than you,_ ’ the brother replied at the same time. Hailey snorted a little when she saw Sarah’s face but she covered it with a cough. Still, that didn’t stop all eyes to fall on her.

“Are you alright Hon?” Claire asked worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Hailey promised trying to keep the grin off her face. “My throat’s just a little dry.” Claire gave her a worried once over before nodding tentatively. Ethan seemed to gather that his wife was worried because he placed an arm around her waist and escorted her out of the room. The was a breath of silence after Ethan closed the door before Hailey started laughing.

“Your face,” she breathed out, pointing at Sarah. Justin and Jesse eventually joined her before Sarah grinned along with them.

“Ah…” Hailey sighed, finally calming herself down. “I’m going to go unpack.”

“But why?” Sarah whined. “We should do something!”

“Ethan said to stay in the house,” Justin reminded her solemnly.

“We all know that we weren’t going to follow that,” Jesse argued. “I mean Hailey’s leaving tonight for patrol in Star City.”

“Which is why I’m going to unpack,” Hailey said, trying to leave but the other three weren’t having it.

“Hailey knows how to handle herself,” Justin pointed out. “The rest of us hardly know how to handle  _her_.”

“I’m going to try to not take that as an insult,” Hailey commented. “But Justin’s right. Boston was dangerous. Gotham is  _deadly_. You three should stay indoors for now until you get more familiarized with the city. And  _never_  go out alone.” Sarah’s face fell but she picked it up again in an instant.

“Then can I help you unpack?” she asked eagerly. Hailey was going to say no because she didn’t really feel like being around people but Sarah stuck out her bottom lip and widened her eyes. Hailey sighed before she gestured for Sarah to follow her. She heard the squeal of glee before the blonde bounced up next to her.

Because it was only noon and unpacking everyone only took six hours, the four of them flounced down on to the couch trying to come up with something to do for the rest of the night. Before anyone could spit out any ideas, Hailey’s phone rang. She whipped it out and pressed talk.

“Hello?” she grumbled.

“Warehouse on thirty-fourth street,” Dinah told her. “Next to dock and across from downtown.”

Hailey frowned; there was no place like that in Star City. It wasn’t until she heard the gulls that she was confused.

“Where are you?”

“I ju-”

“What city?” Hailey clarified, almost angrily.

Dinah was silent before speaking. “Gotham.”

Hailey was up and moving to her room while stripping off her civilian clothes as Dinah continued. “There’s someone who wants to meet you.”

“In Gotham?” Hailey asked, standing in her room in her underwear. “Who could possibly-”

“Just hurry,” Dinah said. “He doesn’t like waiting.” She hung up as Hailey tossed her phone onto her bed as she rushed to her closet.

“Do you really have to go?” Sarah asked quietly from the doorway.

“I’ll be back before Ethan and Claire are home,” Hailey said confidently, not looking at her cousin.

“Okay,” was the soft reply. “Be safe.” Hailey finally looked her cousin drooping in the doorway.

“Always,” she said fiercely, catching Sarah gaze. She held it for a second so her cousin knew she meant business, then she finished changing. Putting a domino mask over her face, Hailey pulled a small black backpack from the very back of her closet and slung it over her back.

“I’ll see you,” she told Sarah before hopping up on the railing of her balcony and propelling herself up to the roof. Gripping the edge safely, she hoisted herself up. She glanced at her wrist where an old analog watch sat. Pressing a side button, a holographic map popped up and gave her the layout of the city. Inputting the address that Dinah had sent to her, she transferred the marked path to the screen built into the inside of her mask, the display showing a red arrow along the shortest path to get there. After settling her curiosity, she took off at a sprint leaping off the edge of the building before her grappling hook shot out of its resting place on her wrist and pulls her along to the next building.

She was about five minutes away from the warehouse when she was attacked. Hailey was thankful that she on a rooftop instead of swinging through the air but she was still annoyed that someone had the audacity to come after her. The dark figure tackled her to the ground but she pushed them off quickly and they rolled to a stop a few feet away. Hailey stood, her pulse racing and her breathing barely keeping steady. Her attacker— who clearly was a man due to his broad shoulders and a narrow waist— stood tall and proud, similar to her. He wore red spandex and carried a staff, a black and yellow cape fluttering in the wind behind him. Hailey would have lashed out and beaten him senseless had she not recognized him.

“I’m not here fight,” she said calmly, dropping her arms but not her guard. He didn’t seem so eager.

“I’ve never seen you around before,” he said, almost curiously.

“Congrats,” Hailey snapped. “I have to get going.” She turned to go when something flew by her face. Hailey pressed her tongue against the side of her mouth before she turned to face her opponent.

“You should watch yourself,” she warned. He only grinned slyly.

“Try me, little girl,” he said. Hailey had to restrain herself from throwing herself at him and beating him senseless.

“Listen here, dude-”

“The name’s Robin.”

“I’m well aware,” Hailey snapped. “Listen here bird brain, I’m in a hurry and as much as I would like to beat your ass-”

Robin laughed. “As if.” Hailey bit her tongue but her fists clenched together.

“I bet you’re just a high schooler who thinks it’s cool to come out and play hero,” he said, moving closer to her. The two of them were staring each other down as he was moving until he stopped right in front of her.

“Go home kid,” he hissed. “You’re only going to get yourself killed.”

And Hailey lost it: so she punched him square in the face. Cleary he hadn’t seen it coming because he stumbled back from her clutching his nose.

“I think you almost broke my nose!” he said.

“Tough shit.” Hailey was beyond pissed: the more he talked, the more she wanted to rip his tongue out and shove up somewhere where the sun doesn’t shine. Robin let out a small growl before he spun his staff around.

“Bring it girlie.” Then he lunged at her.

Hailey only threw a few hits before she felt herself physically being pulled off of the Boy Wonder. She glanced back and saw Dinah in full costume and looking extremely not happy.

“He started it,” Hailey defended before her mentor even attempted to open her mouth.

“I did not!” Robin argued.

“I was just minding my own business when low and behold, a baby bird comes out of nowhere and starts beating me up,” Hailey countered.

“I did not!”

“You did!”

“Listen here, sweetheart-”

“Don’t you dare-”

“Enough!” The two of them both looked at the man holding Robin back. Hailey immediately stiffened, not out of fear but of interest. The Batman, dressed in his armor and cowl, was glaring at her.

“You two are acting like children,” he growled.

“We are children,” Hailey pointed out. “You know, legally.”

“Speak for yourself sweetheart,” Robin snapped.

“What did I just-”

“We have a proposition for you!” Dinah shouted over the two bickering kids. The two of them shut up right away.

“What?” Hailey asked, removing herself from Dinah’s grip.

Dinah sighed then gestured to the Dark Knight.

“She’s your ward,” he said plainly.

“It’s  _your_  idea,” Dinah refuted angrily. Hailey looked back at her, shocked: Dinah Lance hardly ever got angered at anyone, so the fact that she was so forward with the Dark Knight came as a surprise.

The Batman was silent before he sighed. “We’d like you to join an elite team of the best and brightest future-”

“Absolutely not!” Robin shouted, still trying to free himself from the Batman’s hold. “There’s no way… in hell… I’m letting her join.”

“That’s not your decision is it, bird brain?” Hailey barked.

“You know how I told you about that team I train?” Dinah said.

“Yeah, young super dudes or whatever.”

Robin scoffed. “Young  _Justice_ , sweetheart.”

“I said ‘or whatever’,” Hailey growled at him. “And stop calling me sweetheart.”

Robin grinned evilly. “Why? It bothers you?”

Hailey growled and was about to lunge at him, but Dinah put a firm hand on her shoulder.

“Not yet,” she quietly muttered out of the corner of her mouth. Hailey relaxed but she still continued to glare at the bird. Now that he wasn’t trying to beat her up, she was able to closely examine the damage she had given him. His face was bruised and had small cuts: his cheek was starting to color with a sickly green hue and his lip was bleeding. His hair looked like it went a round with a tornado and lost terrifically. Though she was certain she didn’t look any better, Hailey felt an odd sense of pride and accomplishment for the damage she caused in such a short amount of time.

“What are you staring at?” Robin demanded.

“Not much,” Hailey smirked. He growled a little at her and finally got free of Batman’s grip. He strode right up in front of her and left his face a inches away.

“You should watch yourself,” he told her, his hot breath hitting her right in the face.

“Or what?” Hailey challenged, voluntarily moving herself closer. “You wanna go another round tough guy?”

Robin’s hand shot out and gripped the collar of Hailey’s suit, his other one was flung towards her. But she stopped his hand right before it hit her face.

“That was cute,” she chuckled mockingly. Robin only glared at her before he removed himself on the request of Batman.

“And for the record,” Hailey said. “I’m not joining your little mini super secret club.”

“Ha!” Dinah shouted, pointing at Batman. “I told you so!”

“And why is that?’ Batman asked, ignoring his coworker.

Hailey crossed her arms. “I’m not going to fit in. You’re going to want other people,  _good_  people.”

“And you’re not a good person?” The Dark Knight pressed.

“That’s irrelevant,” Hailey brushed off. “Point is, I’m not joining.” She turned quickly on her heel and started to walk off.

“Six months.”

Hailey froze and glanced over her shoulder at Batman.

“Stay on the team for six months and then you can decide if you want to join or not,” he challenged.

“Six months is a long time,” Robin pointed out. “Can’t we do like two months?”

“The answer’s still no,” Hailey said firmly.

Batman was silent before he said one of the worst things that Hailey could have heard. “You won’t be allowed to patrol Star City if you don’t cooperate.”

Hailey bit down on her tongue before she turned around to face the other three.

“That’s a bit excessive,” Dinah defended Hailey but Batman wasn’t hearing it.

“Your answer still no?” he asked, cockily. Hailey walked right up to him and stared into the white contacts where his eyes should have been.

“Six months,” she whispered. “Then don’t ever come near me again.” She turned to leave but the Dark Knight grabbed her arm.

She glared at him as he spoke. “You should patrol Gotham with Robin and me.”

“Never in a million years,” she and Robin said simultaneously. They glared at each other for a brief moment.

“I need her in Star City,” Dinah countered.

“You have Artemis and the Arrows,” Batman told her. “I want her to get a little more familiar with Gotham.”

“And why’s that?” Hailey snapped. The Dark Knight turned to look at her.

“Because you won’t be training with Canary,” he said as if it were obvious. “You’ll be training with me.”

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

“And he’s absolutely infuriating!” Hailey ranted to Sarah, Justin, and Jesse as she paced around the living room. She had an ice pack pressed against her jaw, one of the places that the annoying Boy Blunder had struck during their short, but intense, fight. She had already stripped out of her suit and grumbled once she saw the multitude of bruises flowering up in colors of blue, green, yellow, red, and purple.

“Who the hell does he think he is?” Hailey grumbled.

“Uh, he’s the Batman,” Jesse argued. Hailey paused her movements as she glared at him. She resumed once Justin spoke up.

“So you’ll be patrolling here?” he asked. Hailey groaned as an indicator of an agreement.

“What are you going to tell Mom and Dad about your jaw?” Sarah asked tentatively.

“I tripped, fell, and hit my jaw on the edge of my bed,” Hailey said flawlessly. “They’ll buy it.”

“I’m not sure,” her cousin murmured. Hailey raised an eyebrow. She was right, of course, there was the chance that Ethan and Claire wouldn’t buy the story and it was more likely that they wouldn’t this time around: recently, they caught her trying to sneak out for patrol and grounded her for a week.

“I think that you’re overreacting,” Jesse grumbled. “Working with the Batman would be a  _dream_  for me. I mean, just imagine working with all his cool tech and-”

“Oh. My. God,” Hailey said incredulously, stopping her pacing once again. “You’re a total Batman fanboy aren’t you?” Jesse opened and closed his mouth a few times before he sheepishly nodded. Hailey rolled her eyes and started moving again.

“And they want me to join this stupid team of theirs,” Hailey continued to grumble. “Like… What’s up with that?!”

“Maybe you should take him up on the offer,” Justin suggested.

Hailey scoffed. “Absolutely not. No way in hell. Nuh-huh.”

“I’m with Justin on this one,” Sarah said. “It wouldn’t be a bad thing to meet some other heroes, Hail.”

“I don’t think it would be bad either,” Hailey admitted. “I just know they aren’t going to like me.”

Jesse frowned. “Why wouldn’t they like you? I mean you’re a tad bit annoying but that’s easily changed.”

Hailey shook her head. “Just trust me. They wouldn’t.”

“I think you’re letting your insecurities get to your head,” Justin said. “You’re not a bad person Hail. There’s no reason for them not to like you.” Hailey gritted her teeth but didn’t say anything.

“Whatever,” she grumbled. “I’m going to my room.” And she stormed off without waiting for anyone else to say anything.

As soon as she flopped down on her bed, Hailey curled up underneath her multitude of blankets and tried to push down her emotions: Justin was right, as always. Hailey was letting her insecurities get the best of her but she had no way to counter them, though she portrayed herself to be strong and independent. The more she thought about it, the more she curled into herself and the more she had to fight the abundance of emotions. Eventually, it became too much and a few tears left the corners of Hailey’s eyes. She squeezed them shut, trying to get rid of them quickly, before she wrapped herself tighter with her blankets and, somehow, fell asleep.

The next morning, she woke up with her alarm clock blaring. She reached a hand over to snooze it when someone beat her to it.

“Morning Hon,” Claire said softly. Hailey grumbled and tucked her head under her blanket, trying to merge and become one with her sheets.

“Your uncle and I are going to work,” her aunt continued, trying to pull the covers away from Hailey. “We thought you kids might want to come before we all go out to walk around town for a little bit. Hmm? Doesn’t that sound fun?”

Hailey really didn’t want to be out of the house today, but her aunt sounded too excited.

“I’ll be out in fifteen minutes,” Hailey muttered from her blanket fortress.

“Ooh yay!” Claire giggled. “We’ll be waiting!”

Hailey for the door to close before she pushed the blankets off of her. She trudged over to her closet and picked out a clean pair of jeans and a nice shirt before she pulled on a leather jacket and a beat-up baseball cap. She walked into her adjoining bathroom to fix her hair a little bit and cover her bruises that were still visible.

She walked out of her room, looking less tired than she felt, and pulled herself into a seat at the dining table.

“You look lovely hon,” Claire chirped. Ethan passed Hailey a plate full of pancakes and she started eating,

‘ _Your jaw feeling better?_ ’ Sarah asked.

‘ _Nothing I haven’t felt before,_ ’ Hailey brushed off.

Sarah hummed as she gave her a disapproving glare from across the table and Hailey only winked cheekily back.

“So we’re only going to be in the office for about two hours,” Claire said. “Then the rest of the day we can spend walking around town!” Hailey hummed as she picked at her food; she wasn’t feeling very hungry after last night. Justin and Jesse walked into the room not long after, looking more lively than the girls.

“We’re going grocery shopping,” Justin said. “We’ll be back around noon.” Claire waved at them as they left the apartment.

“Ready girls?” Ethan asked as Claire picked up her handbag. Sarah nodded and hopped off her stool before walking over the Hailey and dragging her off.

Next thing Hailey knew she was sat in the backseat of Claire’s car, with Sarah practically bouncing off the seat next to her.

“Are you excited?” Sarah asked. Hailey shrugged.

Ethan was the CEO was Knight Industries (KI as Hailey liked to call it), a company well known for the best advances in the medical field. His company studied and prevented a multitude of deadly diseases as well as worked on developing cures. There was a lot of science that went into Ethan’s job and Hailey loved it: she hoped one day she could be her uncle’s successor and run the company herself, but that seemed so far away. Claire ran the clothing industry of KI: she oversaw production and quality as well as preview designs. They had just moved their offices to Gotham, Claire’s hometown, which had prompted the move from Boston, Ethan’s hometown, to here. Hailey’s aunt and uncle always had had their offices next to each other so they worked in the same building.

Claire pulled up carefully to the tall skyscraper that housed the offices.

“Let’s go girls!” she cheered. Sarah clapped happily and followed her mother out quickly. Hailey and Ethan were a bit slow on exiting the car. Ethan looked a lot more tired than he had that morning.

“You feeling alright?” Hailey asked him. Her uncle gave her a tired grin.

“I’m alright. Just tired.”

The two of them exchanged wary smiles before they followed the other two into the building. Claire kept blabbing on and on while the four of them rode the elevator to the top floor, where both of the offices were.

“And we had ceiling to floor windows put in,” Claire commented as the elevator doors slid open on the top floor. “It brings in so much natural light and really livens up the place. And-!”

Ethan cut her off before she could continue. “Mister Wayne! I wasn’t aware you were coming in today.” Hailey watched as her uncle exchanged a friendly business handshake with a tall, burly, dark-haired man, whom she took for Mister Wayne. There was a sense of charming elegance to him, but Hailey felt a little offset the more she looked at him: an uneasy feeling washed over her when his eyes darted quickly to her.

“These must be your girls,” Mister Wayne chuckled, turning his full attention.

“My precious daughter Sarah,” Claire said. “And my only niece, Hailey.” Hailey gave the man a thin-lipped smile and dipped her head in some form of a greeting while Sarah gave him a quiet but bubbly ‘hello’.

“Darlings, this is Bruce Wayne,” Ethan explained. “CEO of Wayne Enterprises.”

‘ _He’s hot,_ ’ Sarah commented.

‘ _He’s like twenty thousand years older than you,_ ’ Hailey pointed out.

‘ _I never said I was into him,_ ’ Sarah commented, giving a Hailey a slight glance. ‘ _I was just pointing out the conventional beauty that he possesses._ ’ Hailey snickered quietly as Mister Wayne continued to tell the two of them how “lovely and impeccable” they were.

“Where are my manners,” he said finally. He cleared his throat and someone else popped their head out from around the corner of the hallway.

“Claire, Ethan,” Wayne started. “This is my son Richard. Richard this is Mr. Ethan and Claire Knight, CEO of Knight Industries.”

The first thing Hailey noticed about the boy was the shocking brightness of his cobalt eyes: Hailey was about to bet Sarah that if someone pointed a flashlight at them, they’d become their own night light, but once she saw her cousin’s vaguely dreamy face, she knew it was a lost cause. Richard was attractive, Hailey would give him that, but that’s not why Hailey felt drawn to him. There was a common similarity between the two of them, an abnormal homogeneity. The strange sense of familiarity resounded off of him and one look into his eyes and Hailey could tell he felt the same. He gave her a once-over, as she was giving him his, and finally returned his gaze to her eyes before cracking into the smallest smile Hailey had ever seen.

“Richard this Sarah and Hailey Knight,” Bruce said. Hailey was about to open her mouth to correct him, but she was cut off by Richard.

“Pleasure to meet you all,” he said respectfully.

“What a perfect gentleman,” Claire teased. “Reminds me of my own daughter. Now if only Hailey could behave.” Claire shot her a teasing glance and Hailey just laughed nervously and quietly before she looked elsewhere.

“Why don’t the kids explore the building?” Ethan suddenly asked. “I’m sure they would enjoy that.”

‘ _And spend more time with Hottie McHunk? Yes please_ ,’ Sarah laughed.

‘ _Your boyfriend isn’t going to like that,_ ” Hailey teased. Sarah shot her a quick glare with a small frown. It was hard not to tease Sarah; she had, and still has, one of the biggest crushes on a person that anyone could have. The person in question, the lucky one to had stolen her small, teenaged, confused heart was none other than Justin Adkins. But alas, Justin was as clueless as they come and Sarah was far too shy to make the first move so they two never got any further than where they are now. Hailey only raise an amused eyebrow before she felt something warm wrap around her upper arm. Her gaze shot instantly to Richard, who was standing significantly closer to her.

“Come on,” he whispered, with his same small grin. “Let’s go explore.” He started off, dragging Hailey slightly behind him. Hailey glanced back to see Sarah shuffling behind the two of them.

‘ _Can you ask the cutie next to you to slow down?_ ’ she asked.

‘ _You do it_ ,’ Hailey said.

‘ _You’re closer!_ ’ Sarah pointed out.

‘ _You’re behind us._ ’

Sarah gave her cousin a sour look before she called out, “hey slow down a bit”. Richard slowed a little and waited for Sarah to catch up before he set off at the same pace he had before. The three of them raced around the building looking at all the different departments. They ended up splitting up because Sarah wanted to check out more of the design studios while Richard wanted to check out the labs, which Hailey was also aching to see. The two of them stood in silence outside of one of the many genetic labs.

“Your, uh, cousin is very talkative,” Richard eventually said, almost desperately trying to grasp a conversation with her. Not that Hailey blamed him: she had hardly said a word the whole time Sarah was with them and the silence between the two of them was eating her alive.

But Hailey didn’t want to go off on a tangent about Sarah, so she only hummed keeping her gaze on the lab in front of her.

Richard nodded as silence enveloped the two of them again.

“So Ms. Knight-” he started again after a while.

“Not Knight,” Hailey corrected quickly. “Mason.”

He seemed shocked. “Mason?”

She nodded. “Claire’s maiden name. My mother’s last name. The two of them were sisters.”

“Ah,” Richard said, almost satisfied with his given answer. “You and I have a lot more in common than I thought.”

Hailey finally turned to face him. “How so?”

“I’m adopted,” Richard said quickly. “My last name is Grayson.”

“Richard Grayson,” Hailey mused, leaning her back against the window in the lab.

“I usually go by Dick.”

Hailey stared at him for a little bit before she looked away, trying not to laugh.

“Oh go on and laugh anyway,” Dick grumbled.

Hailey cleared her throat while shaking her head. “No no. I feel like that would be impolite.”

Dick only sighed and smiled his small smile again. “I thought you were an innocent girl.”

“There’s a difference between quiet and innocent dontcha think?” Hailey asked, shooting him a playful grin.

He turned to face her better and fought to keep a rising grin off of his face.

“Hailey Mason,” he finally whispered. He then crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. “Richard Grayson.”

He let their names hang in the air for a bit before he finally let loose a larger smile.

“I think we’ll make a great pair.”


	3. Chapter 2

Bruce Wayne invited Ethan, Claire, Sarah, and Hailey to join him and Dick for lunch, and Claire eagerly accepted. As the six of them were walking down the street, Claire and Sarah eagerly chatting up Mister Wayne, Hailey found herself walking in the back of the group next to Dick.

“So how old are you?” Dick asked, trying to lessen the awkward tension between the two of them.

“I turned fifteen in April.”

“Oh really? We’re the same age then.”

Hailey only hummed in reply.

“But I’m still older than you,” Dick chuckled. “I turned fifteen in November.”

Hailey turned to look at him. “Don’t get cocky over a few months.” He laughed at her response before they caught up with the rest of the group waiting in front of a nicer diner.

“After you.” Dick gestured for Hailey to lead into the restaurant but Sarah beat her to it.

“I call window seat,” she whispered gleefully as she skirted past Hailey.

“There’s more than one window seat,” Hailey noted quietly.

She found her cousin sitting in a booth right next to the window. Hailey slipped into the seat across from her and Sarah shot her a cheesy grin.

‘ _Is he nice?_ ’ she asked Hailey.

‘ _Who, Dick?_ ’

‘ _Yeah, girlie. Is he fun to hang with?_ ’

Hailey shrugged slightly before responding. ‘ _He’s cool I guess._ ’ Sarah pressed her lips together in an attempt to hide her smile but her round cheekbones and squinted eyes gave her emotions away. Before Hailey could ask her cousin what she was planning, the seat dipped next to her and Dick took the seat right next to her.

“I wasn’t done talking to you missy,” he chuckled awkwardly. Hailey cleared her throat in a strange mixture of nervousness, eagerness, and amusement. She rolled her tongue between her front teeth before she audibly sighed, having issues keeping the amused look off of her face.

“What other things could you possibly want to talk to me about?” she asked, turning her torso to face him better.

“Oh there are so many things,” Dick grinned. He was about to say more when Ethan, Claire, and Bruce came to sit down. Bruce took the seat next to Dick and Ethan slid across from Dick, leaving Claire with the spot right across from Bruce.

“So Mister Wayne-” Claire started, looking directly at Dick.

“Uh it’s Grayson actually,” Dick interrupted.

“Oh?” Claire asked, shocked. “And why is that?”

Dick just awkwardly laughed and Hailey butted in to remove him for that situation.

“Claire I don’t think-”

“Shush Hailey,” Claire scolded lightly. “Let the boy speak.” She turned expectantly to Dick again.

“Uh…” Dick started off. “I’m, uh, adopted.”

Claire gasped loudly before she dramatically placed a hand over her heart and pouted out her lips in what could be seen as sympathy but Hailey thought it was just her overreacting.

‘ _Oh boy, here we go,_ ’ Sarah stated. Hailey shot her a looks from across the table before returning her gaze back when Claire started to speak.

“You poor thing,” her aunt cooed. “Your parents must have been awful people to leave such a nice young man such as yourself alone.” Dick tensed up and started looking very uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat a little before he shot Claire a hesitant smile. Hailey knew exactly what he was going through.

“Claire,” Hailey said shortly. Her aunt waved her off before continuing.

“You know,” Claire said, lowering her voice. “Hailey doesn’t carry the Knight last name. She’s my sister’s child. And her father-”

“Darling we’ve talked about this,” Ethan tried to cut her off as well.

“Shush hon,” Claire continued. “Her father was just awful.” Now it was Hailey's turn to tense up. She never knew who her father was; she had only heard stories about him and his “evil deeds and wicked ways” as according to Claire.

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” Bruce said, somehow managing to keep the friendly smile on his face. “But Richard’s parent passed away.”

Again, cue Claire for making a scene out of that too.

“You poor thing,” she cooed again. “I bet they died loving you to the fullest extent.”

‘ _Except that they were awful people to leave such a nice young man such as himself alone,_ ’ Hailey thought bitterly.

‘ _Sometimes I wish she’d just stop talking,_ ’ Sarah admitted. Hailey raised an eyebrow at her cousin, who was giving her an apologetic look. Sarah absolutely adored her mother and wanted to be almost exactly like her when she grew older. Almost. It wasn’t that often that Claire overstepped her bounds a bit but when she did, she  _really_  overstepped them.

“You know,” Claire started, once again lowering her voice. “Hailey’s mother my darling sister-- god rest her soul-- passed on too.” Hailey audibly sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as Claire continued.

“Mom maybe we should ju-”

“Shush Sarah,” Claire said. “My goodness, my companions are so rude today.” She chuckled.

“Yes, the poor dear was sh-”

“I need to use the restroom,” Hailey finally concluded before Claire could finish her statement.

“Hon you look angry,” Claire commented, furrowing her brow in confusion. “What’s got you so worked up?”

“Nothing much,” Hailey said shortly. “If you would be so kind Mister Wayne…” Bruce quietly-- and quickly-- got up and Dick scooted out of the booth with Hailey following right behind him.

“You know I think I need to use the restroom as well,” Dick said, giving Claire a firm but fake grin.

Claire looked between the two of them before giggling lightly. “Kids these days. I thought you two were supposed to have strong bladders.” She laughed at her own “joke” as Hailey quickly darted off towards the bathroom. She was about to push open the women’s bathroom door when someone gripped her wrist and pulled her into the kitchen. They pulled her into a small closet in the back of the room and shut the door.

When the light was turned on, Hailey saw an uneasy Dick standing in front of her. He gave her an apologetic, tight smile.

“Sorry about her,” Hailey muttered. “Usually she’s not like that.” Dick laughed awkwardly.

“It’s fine,” he said. “I’m, uh, kinda used to these rich snobs acting like that. No offense.”

Hailey chuckled. “None taken.” They stood in silence for a while before Dick sat down on the floor. He reached up and pulled Hailey down with him.

“Should we really be in here?” Hailey asked.

“Bruce owns the place,” Dick grinned. “I bring people in here all the time.”

“People?” Hailey asked raising an eyebrow. “Or girls?” Dick flushed a deep red as he stuttered and coughed.

“Just… people,” he finally mumbled, looking away from her. Hailey let out a breath of amusement as she smiled. Dick turned his attention back towards her.

“So,” he started. “We have a  _ton_  more in common than I originally thought.” Hailey gave him a strained smile.

“Do you miss her?” he asked quietly after a short pause. Hailey reached for the charm around her neck and nodded quietly, her fingers wrapping around it.

“Yeah, I feel you,” Dick muttered. Suddenly he chuckled.

“Don’t you think it’s odd?” he asked. Hailey raised an eyebrow.

“I know for sure I’ve never met you before,” he continued, leaning towards her eagerly. “But yet…-”

“We have so much in common. Almost we’ve  _had_  to have met before,” Hailey finished. Dick nodded, grinning widely.

“It’s such a strange feeling,” he whispered. Hailey nodded in agreement and returned his smile.

“So,” Dick said changing the subject. “School. Which one are you going to?”

“Gotham Academy,” Hailey groaned.

“Hey,” Dick said eagerly. “We’ll be going to the same school.” Hailey groaned again.

“School’s gross,” she complained. Dick laughed as his phone went off. He fished it out and looked at the screen.

“It’s Bruce,” he told Hailey. “He wants to know how long we’ll be ‘in the bathroom’.” Hailey giggled when Dick put air quotes around “in the bathroom”.

“I should probably go back out there,” Hailey said, almost sadly.

“You calmed down already?” Dick asked as Hailey stood up.

“Not in the slightest,” she sighed. “I just know that if I stay any longer, Claire’s going to flip.”

Dick hummed. “You’re right, we should go.”

“Well I mean you can stay. There’s really no need for you to go-”

Dick laughed at her rambling. “I’m a gentleman. I can’t very well let you handle another conversation like that by yourself.” Hailey playfully rolled her eyes as Dick gripped her wrist again.

“Come on,” he coaxed.

“What is it with you and grabbing my wrist?” Hailey asked as he led her out of the kitchen.

“It’s the easiest thing to grab,” Dick grinned.

“Cool,” said Hailey. “Creepy. But cool, I guess.” Dick laughed again and the two of them entered the main room of the diner. They took their seats and quickly placed their order. Sarah and Ethan shot Hailey a questioning look but Claire was none the wiser that Hailey was even back

Soon after the six of them got their food, and the whole table was dead silent. Hailey was picking at her order, not really interested in eating.

“Is your new apartment nice?” Bruce suddenly asked, obviously trying to spark of some kind of conversation.

Claire hummed in contentment and nodded eagerly. “It’s absolutely wonderful. Oh, I couldn’t imagine a better spot. Well besides Wayne Manor of course.” She giggled like a little school girl and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

“It’s right near Gotham Park,” Ethan chimed in. “Right near where you grew up right darling?”

Claire nodded. “I wanted to move into the exact building that I grew up in, but alas.” She threw arm dramatically across her forehead.

“I’m afraid that area seemed to be flooding with nightcrawlers,” she sighed. Bruce and Dick stared at her.

“Nightcrawlers?”

Claire pursed her lips and nodded. “Yes, those vigilante types. You know that Batman and his little bird friend. What’s his name, Sparrow?”

“Robin,” Hailey and Dick said at the same time. They glanced at each other before Claire started speaking again.

“Yes, that one. If you ask me they’re all bad,” Claire stated. “Selfish monsters trying to capitalize off of destruction, chaos, and suffering.” Hailey gritted her teeth and looked down at her food.

“But then what of the people they’ve saved?” Dick asked, almost angrily. “Because there are thousands-”

“More people to cash into the scam,” Claire said quickly. “You ask me, it’s all a ruse by the newspapers to sell more copies.”

She leaned in closer and whispered to the two sitting next to Hailey, but she felt her aunt’s comment ripped through her as well.

“There’s not an ounce of good in them. They’re selfish, psychotic, and murderous lunatics trying to boost their own egos.” Hailey felt Dick clench his fist under the table. Without looking she reached over and squeezed his wrist gently. His hand relaxed instantly but Hailey left her hand on his wrist, more as a grounding for herself than him.

‘ _She wouldn’t be saying that if she knew Hailey,_ ’ Sarah attempted to comfort her. ‘ _You’re nothing like that._ ’

‘ _Or maybe you’re too blind to see it,_ ’ Hailey said curtly.

‘ _Hail-_ ’

‘ _I don’t want to talk about this now._ ’

Hailey finally looked up from her food when Bruce started to chuckle.

“I apologize, Mrs. Knight,” he said. “But I must disagree. There are things that we as the general public will never know about the vigilante heroes. However, I know for certain that they are only looking out for the well-being of the populous. I hope one day you may come face to face with them so that you may evaluate them in person.”

“Well,” Claire said hotly. “I should hope that I do not. And I hope the same for my darling husband, lovely daughter, and niece.”

Bruce only gave her a polite smile and the rest of the lunch was dead silent. Afterward, Dick pulled Hailey aside before he and Bruce left to go back to Wayne Manor.

“Hey um,” Dick quickly shoved both of his hands into his pockets and started rocking on the balls of his feet, “so… I, uh, think we should… you know, keep in touch.”

Hailey nodded in agreement and waited for him to continue.

“So I was… you know, wondering,” he started muttering, “could I possibly get your number?”

“Sure,” Hailey replied, reaching a hand out for his phone. Dick quickly and clumsily fished his phone out of his pocket and gave it to her. She put her number in and sent herself a quick text before she handed Dick his phone back.

“Uh thanks,” he muttered, staring at his phone with a goofy grin on his face. “I’ll text you later.”

“Alright then,” Hailey agreed quietly with a small smile. Then Sarah quickly walked up to the two of them.

“Come on Hailey,” she chirped. “Justin and Jesse are meeting us at the park.”

Hailey wanted to say something in reply but Sarah had already started dragging her away. She heard Dick laughing behind them and turned around to meet his gaze. He waved a little when he saw her looking and Hailey tried her best to wave back, but Sarah was relentless. She had soon pulled her cousin around the corner and out of sight of Dick.

“Come on slowpoke,” Sarah chuckled as she slowed her pace down to accommodate for Hailey.

“I was talking to him, you know,” Hailey told her cousin sourly.

Sarah squealed and clapped her hands. “I know! Your face was so red the whole time.”

“No, it wasn’t!”

“Girl yes it was.”

Hailey felt her neck get warm. “Shut up.” It was then that Hailey’s phone started to ring. She fished it out of her pocket, secretly hoping that it was Dick, but the screen was dark. She shoved her civilian phone into her pocket and pulled her “business” phone out of an inside jacket pocket; all that flashed on the screen of that phone was a logo of a bat.

“How the hell did this guy even get my number?” Hailey growled as she answered the call.

“Training. Tonight,” the Dark Knight commanded. Hailey rolled her eyes.

“Where?” she asked, as politely as she could muster.

“Robin will pick you up.”

“Great!” Hailey snapped. “Where?”

“Wayne Tower in the center of town.”

“I’ll be there,” Hailey promised.

“Midnight. No later.”

And then he hung up.

“He gets on my nerves,” Hailey growled to Sarah. “Let’s go meet up with the twins.”

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

**Dick**

It was nearing ten-thirty by the time that Dick had finished suiting up. As usual, he was determined to be early to the meeting with Canary’s ward. He frowned when he thought of her: the stubborn and cocky wanna-be hero. She rubbed him the wrong way, probably because she reminded him a lot of Bruce. The more he thought her, the more Dick started thinking about what Claire had said earlier: selfish, ego-driven vigilantes only out for their own benefit. The very thought of her ignorant opinion infuriated him, but it also sparked a new question in his mind about Canary’s ward: why was she doing what she was doing? He thought again to that stubborn girl, staring him down with his fist caught in hers as she laughed off his threatening stance. She seemed to be intellectual, so there had to be a logical reason to why she would put herself out there like that. Dick put the thought in the back of his mind as Bruce walked into the cave, also already fully dressed.

“Remind me again why I have to go pick her up?” Dick grumbled as he grabbed his motorcycle helmet.

“Because I said so,” Bruce replied. “You should be leaving soon to pick her up.”

“Does she have a name or something?” Dick suddenly asked. “Like honestly what the hell am I supposed to call her?” Bruce had already done his research on Canary’s ward and it was clear that she remained pretty much a mystery: any newspaper that had caught a picture of her had only called her “the unnamed Canary”, something that was unlikely to stick.

“Dinah said she wishes to remain anonymous,” Bruce said. “We’ll call her what she tells us to call her.” Dick grumbled again.

“And you have absolutely nothing on her?” he asked incredulously. Bruce sighed in annoyance, clearly, he was irked by it as Dick was.

“Just go pick her up,” he growled. Dick scoffed before he popped on his helmet and hopped on his bike.

“She better be worth the trouble,” he grumbled, as he gunned the engine.

He arrived at Wayne Tower at eleven-oh-eight and he found a nice little perch on the Northwest corner of the building rooftop. He waited for about thirty minutes before he finally noticed a flash of movement. He turned to his right and saw her.

“I was wondering when you were going to notice me here,” she said, walking along the edge of the building.

“Don’t fall,” Dick warned, ignoring her comment. Canary’s ward chuckled.

“Why?” she cooed. “You worried about me bird brain?”

Dick scoffed. “As if. I just don’t want to explain to Batman that his new recruit is splattered on the pavement below Wayne Tower.”

“I’m sure he would be very upset.”

Dick cleared his throat before he walked over to her. “Come on time to go.”

She only glanced at him and raised an eyebrow, but continued to pace along the edge. “It’s not quite midnight yet.”

“I’m aware,” Dick snapped. “But I want this to be over quickly. So get down here so we can leave.”

“How are we getting to, I’m assuming, of course, the Batcave?” she asked, stopping her movements so she could turn to face him directly.

“I have my bike,” Dick said.

“On the ground?”

Dick nodded and the girl grinned. “I’m meet you at the bottom then.”

Dick was about to protest when Canary’s ward suddenly leaned back and fell over the edge of the building.

“What the- is she crazy?!” Dick quietly gasped. He jumped after her but he realized, not long after he was in the air after leaping off the building, that she was nowhere to be seen in the airspace.

“I’m going to kill her,” Dick muttered, reaching for his grappling hook. But then a tight, but soft, rope wrapped around his wrists, his legs and then his torso and he was suddenly pulled to a stop in mid-air, still high off the ground. Dick glance back up and saw that he was about halfway down the building. Then he started to fall again, the wind whistling past his ear faster now and the chill of the night air clipping straight through his clothes to his skin. Completely helpless, he could only watch as the ground got closer and closer until he stopped suddenly again about five feet off the ground and right at eye level with Canary’s ward’s mask.

“Wasn’t that fun?” she teased.

“Put. Me. Down,” Dick growled. “Now.”

“If you say so,” she shrugged and let go of the fabric that she held in her hand that caused Dick to slam face first into the ground. He growled as he pushed himself up and stared at her maliciously.

“You think that was funny?” he snapped.

“Ah come on,” she drawled, lightly hitting his shoulder. “You didn’t really think that I was going to let you fall did you?” She had a cocky smirk on her face and Dick wanted to smack it right off.

“What the hell did you even use?” he asked finally looking around at the red fabric strings laying around on the ground.

“Silk ribbons,” she said plainly. With a flick of her wrist, the ribbon shot back into a compartment in her wrist that was completely hidden to the naked eye.

“Just silk?” Dick asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

“Well,” she said in an amused tone, shutting the compartment. “Not just silk.” Once she was done, she stood in front of him with both hands in fists and resting on her hips. She looked proud, a small grin graced her lips.

“Whatever let’s go,” Dick grumbled. He turned on his heel and marched quickly to his bike, not caring if she was following him or not. When he got there, he gasped in horror.

“Uh, no offense, Robby boy,” Canary’s ward muttered. “But your bike looks like trash.” And it did; Dick’s bike was totally trashed. The tires were slashed and the engine had been smashed. The headlights were broken off the windshield and the windshield was cracked in two. His exhaust pipe was bent up at a ninety-degree angle and dark liquid leaked out from the bottom of the bike. Dick felt a tight grip on his upper arm.

“Let’s stay away from the bike for now,” Canary’s ward muttered, seeming to have seen the spill at the same time as Dick.

“My bike,” he croaked.

“Yes I’m well aware that you’re in shock but I need you to focus,” she commanded. “Get in touch with Batman and-”

“Yes get in touch with the big bad bat.” Dick whipped around to see four men, all of them dressed in dark clothing and black ski masks. Some were taller than others, but Dick could tell that they weren’t any older than twenty.

“Teenagers,” the girl next to him muttered.

“We have a few words we’d like to say to him,” the guy closest the duo said loudly in a deep voice; it wasn’t of course, Dick could tell that he was trying to deepen his voice for an effect. Which he sorrowfully missed as Dick’s companion spoke up.

“Drop the act, tough guy,” she told him. “It’s best that you head home. It’s late.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” the guy snapped back, his voice maintaining the deep tone.

“I’m not going to tell you again,” she threatened. “Get home.  _Now_.”

One of the guys in the back laughed. “Let’s listen to the little girl, guys.” The rest of the guys joined in and Dick felt her grip on his arm tighten.

“Watch it,” she growled.

“Oh what are you going to do?” the main guy chuckled moving closer so that he was standing directly in front of her. “Tell my mother?” He pushed her shoulder but she barely wavered backward. Dick could feel the anger radiating off of her, but she maintained her calm front.

“If you touch me one more time,” she said lowly. “I will not hesitate to beat you.”

The guy only laughed. “I would love to see you try.” Dick reached over and pushed the guy further away from his companion.

“I would leave her alone,” he reasoned. “She’s not kidding.”

“Oh how kind of you to have faith in me,” she muttered to him.

“And how are the two of you going to take down the four of us?” the guy gloated. Dick glanced around; the other three guys had surrounded the two heroes and seemed itching to throw some punches.

“Bring it on buttercup,” Canary’s ward proposed.

“No,” Dick said, looking at her with wide eyes. “Let’s not bring it on.” But the other two weren’t listening. One of the other guys pulled Dick back from the two ready to square off. He was shocked at how effortlessly the guy pulled him back; Dick wasn’t that muscular of a guy but a normal teenager shouldn’t have pulled him back that easily. Dick was snapped back to the action between the two when he heard a cry of pain. He shot his gaze forward to see that the guy was face down on the ground with her knee digging into his shoulder blades and one of his arms pulled straight back in the air.

“I warned you,” she said plainly.

“Get the hell off of me!” the guy cried. “You’re going to break my arm.”

“No,” she said plainly. “You’re going to tell me what I want to know.”

The guy shouted again when she pressed her knee deeper into his shoulder blades. “Fine! Fine! What do you want to know?”

“Who told you to come here?” the girl demanded.

The guy was silent before Dick’s companion pulled on his arm harder. “I can’t tell you that!”

“And why’s that?”

“He’s scarier than you are,” the guy admitted, timidly.

“Who?” she ordered.

“Batman!” an oddly feminine voice called out. Dick looked at the tallest and buffest guy of the group. His body started morphing until a much smaller, much greener girl stood there.

“Miss Martian!” the guy on the ground shouted. Dick’s companion dropped his arm and pulled his mask off roughly. A bright red head of hair tumbled out.

“Wally?!” Dick asked the boy. “What’s the meaning of this?” The redhead scoffed as he was allowed to get off the ground.

“We were curious about her,” M’gann told Dick. “Batman told us to follow you guys.”

“And here I thought you were going to be nice and sweet,” Wally spat at Canary’s ward.

“I am nice,” she commented. “But not to assholes who push me, Wallace.”

Wally blinked a few times at her. “How did you-?”

“I’ve heard things about you.”

“Then you must have heard of the rest of us,” a calmer voice said. Kaldur pulled off his own mask and stared at the two of them.

“I have,” she responded. “Canary’s told me a lot about you.”

“Well, we haven’t heard a thing about you.” Connor; he pulled off his mask and glared at the girl.

“And I intend to keep it that way.”

“Why’s that?” he growled.

The girl only shrugged. “I have things that I wish to be kept secret. Is it wrong to keep my personal life private?” Connor looked like he was trying to fish for the right argument when the girl turned to look at M’gann.

“I would greatly appreciate if you didn’t poke around in my head,” she told the Martian.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “It’s a habit.” The girl only frowned and crossed her arms.

“This is ridiculous,” she declared.

“What is?” Connor snapped back. “You?”

“This whole situation!” she fired back. “I never wanted to join your stupid little hero club. I was blackmailed into it.”

“By who?” Wally demanded.

“Guess,” the girl snarled.

“Well there is no changing the situation now,” Kaldur said, trying to keep any more conflict from arising. “Do you have a name?”

The girl eyed him warily. “I do.”

“Well, what is it?” Wally snapped.

“Privacy, remember?”

Connor grumbled something under his breath and pointed at the girl. “Look, kid, we’re all on the same side here. So why don’t you just come clean now.”

The girl suddenly pointed at Dick, who was trying to not get involved. “Has he told you who he is?”

Everyone was silent for a moment before M’gann offered a quiet “No”.

“So why should I tell you mine?” she demanded. “Why are the two of us different in your eyes?”

“Because Robin is trustworthy,” Connor snapped.

“That is enough,” a stern voice called from behind Connor. Dick turned to find Batman standing there.

“How kind of you to show up,” the girl spat. Bruce didn’t say anything; he only turned on his heel and walked away.

“Am I supposed to follow him or something?” she asked. Dick only reached over and gripped her wrist, dragging her behind him.

“I think you just got us both in trouble,” he growled at her.

“Tough shit bird boy,” she snapped as Dick pushed her into the back seat of the Batmobile.

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

The ride back to the cave was quiet. The girl was sat in the back with a blindfold on. She hadn’t said a word since they entered the car and Bruce didn’t seem to be in the mood to talk. When they pulled into the cave, Bruce only got out without address either of the two of them.

“We’re here,” Dick told the girl. She didn’t move. Dick grumbled as he got out of the car to open up her door. Once he had pulled her out of the car, he yanked the blindfold off.

“Oh a cave,” she muttered. “My favorite.” Dick gripped her elbow and forcefully led her to the computer terminal where Bruce sat, waiting for the two of them.

“Do you know who those people were?” Bruce asked as soon as Dick sat her down in the chair.

“Wallace West, Connor Kent, M’gann M’orzz, and Kaldur’ahm,” she said quickly. “Better known as Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian, and Aqualad.”

“Did Dinah tell you that?” Brue asked. She only looked forward without responding.

“How did you get into the League system?” Bruce tried again. This time she grinned.

“Ah Batman,” she chuckled. “A magician never reveals her secrets.”

“You’re a hacker.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny this statement.”

Dick could have sworn that he saw the corners of Bruce’s mouth twitch. “You’re a good hacker.”

“How good I am has got nothing to do with it,” she quickly. “I was, hypothetically, a hacker.”

Bruce cleared his throat and stood up. “You’ll be training with me for two months before I’ll allow you to join the team.”

That got her attention. “You said six months.”

“I said six months on the team,” Bruce said, starting to walk away. “I never said how long I needed to train you.”

The girl scoffed. “This is ridiculous….”

Bruce exited the room and came back with a communicator. He handed it to her and she stared at it in her hand.

“The fuck is this for?”

“I assume you don’t want me using your personal phone number to contact you,” Bruce said.

“This is true,” she admitted. “But the number you called wasn’t my personal number. I had a whole other number set up in order to throw suspicious characters off from trying to track me. I’m smart like that.”

“So you have a whole other phone for this stuff?” Dick asked her. She winked at Dick in response.

“I have ground rules that you need to keep,” Bruce continued. “Don’t touch anything in here that does not look like it belongs to you.”

“This whole space looks like it doesn’t belong to me,” she commented.

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” Bruce continued.

“But what if I want to?” she countered.

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Now you’re just asking for me to do the impossible,” she laughed.

“But most importantly,” Bruce continued, clearly unfazed by her attempts to discredit him. “Don’t be late. I have no obligations t-”

“If you don’t have any obligations then why the hell are you dragging me into this mess?” she suddenly snapped. “What do you gain from me being in your mess?”

“Another ally,” Bruce said plainly.

The girl stared blankly at him before she responded. “You wouldn’t want me as an ally.”

“Why’s that?”

She folded her arms and glared at him. “Just trust me on this; don’t.” Her last word hung in the air before Bruce changed the subject.

“What’s your name?”

“None of your business.”

Dick scoffed and rolled his eyes. “There has to be something that we can call you by.”

She regarded him carefully before she dropped her arms to her hips and started pacing. Then she stopped and stared at the two of them. Then she hummed, popped her hip, and pressed her knuckled to her mouth; clearly, she was thinking what to reply with.

“Natalie,” she replied finally. “Call me Natalie.”

“Is that your real name?” Bruce asked.

“Nope,” she chirped. “But it’s the closest thing you are ever going to get to my real name.”

“Natalie’s a pretty name,” Dick commented.

“I know,” she shot back.

“Can I call you Nat for short?” he asked.

“Don’t care.”

“Are you going to go by Natalie in the field?” Bruce asked suspiciously.

“Of course not,” Nat hissed.

“Then what will you call yourself?”

Natalie froze and seemed to toy with another idea before she opened her mouth. She quickly closed it again and started pacing before she stopped right in front of them and stared the two men down.

“Nightingale. Call me Nightingale.”


	4. Chapter 3

Two months had surprisingly passed very quickly for Hailey. Batman was relentless; he pushed Hailey to her limit every single night, leaving her bruised, battered, and exhausted every single time she returned to the apartment. Tonight, the second to last night was no exception.

"Again," the Dark Knight commanded, sitting back in his computer chair not even looking at Hailey. If he did, he probably would have said the same thing, but at least he would have seen the dirty glare she was giving him. Hailey was bent over, her hand resting on her knees, sweat dripping down her brow, and the dirtiest look wiped across her face as she stared down the back of Batman's chair, panting heavier than a dog on a hot August day in the middle of Texas. Her opponent, the unfortunate boy wonder, stood across from her; but, he by no means looked any better off than Hailey did. While he wasn't doubled over, he panting just as hard as Hailey was and just as drenched in sweat as she was.

"You heard the man," Robin grumbled, trying to stand as tall as he could. Hailey rolled her eyes and matched his stance. Over the past few months, Robin and she had oddly bonded over their mutual hatred for Hailey joining the team; while they were still far from being friends, they were at the point where they didn't feel the need to kill each other every time they saw each other.

Robin took the first swing at Hailey and their dance started. Hailey had fought this man so many times that she had started to recognize his moves and combos before he even started to execute them. She used her secret knowledge to keep him a safe distance away from her to avoid getting hit. She kept this up for a while, until...

_thud_.

Hailey groaned from the ground, Robin quickly rushing over to help her up.

"Are you alright?" he asked, offering his hand to help her up. Hailey had slipped off the mat and landed on the cold, ragged, and stone ground of the cave.

"I'm fine," she slurred, gripping his hand and pulling herself up. She stumbled a little into him, her head throbbing and the taste of blood dominating her mouth.

"Are you sure?" Robin asked, almost looking borderline concerned. Hailey nodded and instantly regretted that movement; the tossing of her head had caused the pounding to increase and dark spots to start dancing across her vision.

"Bats," Robin called. "I think-"

"I'm fine," Hailey insisted harder. She roughly pulled her hand away from Robin and dusted herself off, glancing at the clock.

"We have fifteen minutes left," she stated. "I can push through that." She started off with Robin reluctantly following her. As they took their places on the mat, Hailey gritted her teeth together in order to keep her head clear.

"Are you sure you want to keep going?" Robin asked.

"You scared you're gonna lose?" Hailey teased, trying her best to shot him a smile. Robin frowned but got ready for another sparring match. As away he took the first swing. Hailey ducked and pushed him away from her.

Robin took a shot to kick Hailey to the ground; she blocked it.

He sent a few right hooks; Hailey blocked that too.

Roundhouse kick, blocked.

Sweeping kick, blocked.

Left elbow to the abdomen. Right hook to the jaw. Headlock for restrainment.

Blocked. Blocked. And Blocked.

Hailey wasn't quite sure where, but somewhere in the middle of their sparring match, she blinked and woke up on the med bay table.

Hailey groaned. "What the hell?"

"You passed out young miss," the elderly man said, standing next to her. Hailey had come to call him the Butler because that was what he reminded her of: an elderly, British man with the patience of a father and a cleanliness obsession that rivaled Claire's.

Hailey frowned. "Did I?"

"Yeah," Robin agreed. "Just crumpled up like a piece of paper in the middle of our sparring session."

"I don't remember that."

"It was quite sudden young miss," the Butler noted. "I would ask that you don't push yourself that hard again."

Hailey only gave him a sheepish glance before she pushed herself up. "What time is it?"

"Almost ten."

"In the morning?!"

Robin nodded and Hailey quickly stood.

"Miss Natalie I would ask that you remain-"

"My aunt is going to kill me," she said firmly to the old man. "I don't exactly have the time to take things easy right now." With that being said, she left the med bay with Robin tight on her tail.

"I agree with him ya know," he muttered quietly. "Nat, you really shouldn't-"

"Oh shut up boy wonder," Hailey snapped. "It'll be a miracle if I'm not dead by the end of the day."

Robin grumbled something under his breath before he passed Hailey and started dragging her after him.

"What are you doing?" Hailey asked.

"I'll give you a ride back," he insisted. Hailey roughly pulled herself out of his grip and he turned quickly, clearly wearing the intent to tell her off.

"Listen Nat," he started before she could even open her mouth, "I get that you don't trust or even like me but you have a possible concussion and I am  _not_  letting you find your own way back to the city so why don't you shove your  _don't-help-me-I'm-fine_  attitude up your ass and let me help you this once."

Hailey just stared at him, unsure how to respond. Robin reached to grab for her arm again, but Hailey pulled her arm away again.

"Natalie-"

"I was going to say that I need to change before we leave, dumbass." Hailey crossed her arms over her uniform; Robin gave her the once-over before he sheepishly cleared his throat.

"Uh, yeah... umm... you got a change of clothes?"

Hailey scowled. "Nope. Got something I could borrow?" Robin nodded before he hurried off to get the clothes.

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

Hailey had Robin drop her off at the park near the apartment building. Robin had also changed into civilian clothes-- "They're _called_  civvies," he had insisted to Hailey-- so they didn't stick out at all. Hailey stepped off the bike, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and white tee-shirt; they were both way too big and she looked like she was drowning in the material. She had on a pair of her blacked-out sunglasses, and she was absent-mindedly smacking a piece of bright pink bubblegum. Robin wasn't dressed too differently; a beat-up pair of blue jeans, a loose red shirt covered partially by a leather jacket, and of course his matching sunglasses.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Robin asked.

Hailey glared at him, almost involuntarily. "Why are you suddenly so concerned?"

Robin rolled his eyes. "Batman's asking."

Hailey blew a bubble and bit into it to pop it in his face. "Why is he suddenly so concerned?"

The poor messenger boy scowled. "I'll take that as you're fine and I'll just go." Robin revved his bike and screeched off before Hailey could reply. She blew another bubble until it popped before she turned to walk towards the center of the park. She beelined to a large tree that sat on top a gently sloping hill. There was a large figure standing at the top, tense and uncomfortable; Hailey recognized the man from far away. She walked up to him and patted his shoulder.

"Jesus Hail," he said, whipping his gaze to her as she passed by him to stand in front of him. "You gave us all a heart attack. You could at least call?"

"I was a bit busy Jes," she commented. "Have you guys come up with a cover story?"

Jesse grumbled a "yes" as he leaned his back against the tree.

Hailey blew another bubble before letting it pop. "And what is it?" she asked.

"I'll explain in the car." Jesse grabbed her hand and led her down the slope. Hailey followed him quietly as he pushed her into the back seat of a tiny black car.

"Hello, Hailey," Justin greeting, glaring at her from the rear view mirror. "How was your evening?"

"I'm not interested in your sass Adkins," Hailey snapped, throwing her glasses onto the seat next to her in a tired rage. He muttered something under his breath before he put the car into drive and started to drive to the building.

"You spent the evening with us," Jesse instructed sourly, from the passenger's seat. "You snuck out right after dinner and went to meet up with us at the park before we went to the movies. It was late and you didn't want to walk home so you stayed with us at our aunt's apartment."

Jesse and Justin had family practically everywhere; Hailey couldn't think of one place across the globe that some relatives of the Adkins' living there.

"Your aunt is informed in case Claire and Ethan call?" Hailey asked.

"She's on a business trip to Chicago," Justin said. "Jesse answered this morning when they called."

Hailey nodded before silence fell over the car. She figured the other two must be pretty pissed because Jesse-- a usually sociable and talkative person-- kept his mouth shut and Justin-- a usually calm and collected person-- was gripping the steering wheel significantly tighter than usual.

But no matter how bad they were, Claire was bound to be worse.

And she was. "You just left in the _middle of the night_?!"

Sarah flinched at how loud her mother's voice was.

"Yes ma'am," Hailey said apathetically.

"Did you even _think_  about all the terrible things that could have happened?!" Claire shouted again.

"No, ma'am."

Ethan took a quiet sip of his coffee before he spoke up. "Claire let it go. She's a teenager, she's bound to do stupid and reckless things.

"Reckless yes," Claire turned her wrath onto her husband, "stupid no. Hailey is smarter than that."

"I won't do it again ma'am," Hailey said quietly, staring off at downwards angle off into space.

"I would hope not," Claire spat. "You have more than just yourself to worry about. You have the Knight name resting on your shoulders. You can do serious damage to the public image of the rest of us."

"Yes, ma'am." Hailey could feel the stringent glare of Claire beating down on her as she huffed out angry breaths, leaving the rest of the room in agonizing silence; everyone knew not to cross Claire when she was this angry. Probably because they all knew Claire would bite their heads off if they said the wrong thing.

Sarah thankfully seemed to grasp at how tired Hailey was because she linked their arms together. "I think Hailey should take some time to think over her actions in her room for a few hours."

"More than just a few hours," Claire concluded. "You're grounded for the next three weeks."

"Weeks?" Hailey gasped.

"Yes weeks," Claire said harshly. "I can make it months if you don't like it."

"No weeks is fine," Hailey grumbled. Sarah shot her mother a small smile before pulling Hailey into her room.

She shut the door, locked it, and set Hailey down on the bed. "Let me check it."

"I'm fine."

Sarah was not taking no for an answer and grabbed Hailey's chin.

"Where was the biggest impact?" she asked quietly, gently threading her fingers through Hailey's hair trying to find the tender spot where she hit her head. Hailey winced when she grazed the spot with her soft fingertips. Sarah quickly pulled her hand back and gave her cousin a concerned glance before she went to open the door.

Jesse and Justin walked in and Sarah quietly shut and locked the door again.

' _So what really happened?_ ' Sarah asked. ' _Why were you out so late?_ '

' _I hit my head too hard and overexerted myself,_ ' Hailey said bluntly.

' _That seems to be rapidly becoming an issue,_ ' Justin commented. ' _You almost passed out last week._ '

' _And the week before,_ ' Jesse kindly reminded the rest of them.

Hailey glared at the twins. ' _Thank you, Adkins._ '

' _Anytime darling._ ' Jesse winked cheekily at her.

Hailey glared at him before she yawned.

' _We'll let you sleep,_ ' Sarah said. ' _But be warned, we might have guests over when you wake up._ '

Hailey hummed before she shooed the rest of them out and changed into her own clothes. She locked the door again before she examined last night's trophies, represented by any physical injuries that she might have procured. Her torso was blooming with bruises as always, but her back was more banged up than usual. She popped a pill to help with the pain and slipped into bed; she was out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Her eyelids felt like they had just closed for a second before she opened them to the fading afternoon sunlight falling through the window and on to the gorgeous boy standing over her bed.

"Do you always creep on girls in their rooms Mister Grayson?" Hailey chuckled weakly. Dick grinned when he realized that Hailey was up. He waited for her to sit up and scooch over before he plopped down next to her.

"Do you always sneak out of the house late at night?" he joked.

Hailey frowned before she sighed. "Not you too."

"Claire won't shut up out there about how irresponsible you are."

Hailey groaned before she let her upper body fall back on to the bed. "This is embarrassing."

Dick laughed weakly before the mood changed quickly. "You should have been more careful."

Hailey shot him a questioning look.

"Gotham is a dangerous city. Especially for someone as young as you are," Dick insisted worriedly, his gaze raking over Hailey's body; he almost looked like he was searching for any abnormalities in her physical appearance. Hailey rolled her eyes playfully and nudged him in his thigh.

"I'm okay Dick," she promised him. He met her eyes and sighed before he flopped down next to her.

"I know you are," he said quietly. "But still... that doesn't make me any less worried about you." Hailey felt herself fighting a grin and cleared her throat, oddly pleased with his comment; her body felt unusually warm and her heart felt like it was sprinting laps around twenty football fields.

"Promise me that you won't leave the apartment after dark," Dick said turning his head to face her. Hailey looked at him as well.

She had the intent of lying to him, but when they locked eyes Hailey was having a hard time bringing herself to lie to the poor guy anymore. She and Dick had spent quite a considerable amount of time together and Hailey was very proud to call him a friend. But there was something locked behind his warm cobalt eyes that made Hailey feel immense guilt from even thinking about lying to him.

Hailey sighed before she gave him an answer. "I can't do that."

Dick's face dropped as he started staring at the bedsheets on Hailey's bed. "I was afraid you'd say that."

"I'm sorry Dick," Hailey whispered quietly. Her apology was so quiet, in fact, that when Dick didn't respond right away, she was worried that he hadn't heard her.

But he hummed quietly before his face lit up again.

"School's starting soon," he grinned."Less than a month. Are you excited?"

"No," Hailey frowned. "I don't like school."

Dick laughed. "Why not?"

"Too easy?" Hailey offered. "Ethan's been trying to get Claire to let me apply for college classes so I can get a head start on a degree."

"What do you want to be?" Dick asked eagerly.

Hailey shrugged. "Somewhere in the medical field or something with computers or in the justice system."

Dick was silent for a moment before he started laughing. "Come on, Hail. I know you have a specific job in mind."

Hailey gave him a sheepish look, before tearing her gaze away. "Forget it. It's stupid."

"It can't be that stupid," Dick said. "Come on just tell me."

Hailey thought for a moment before she stood up and walked over to her bedroom door. She opened it quickly and stuck her head out to check the hallway; thankfully, it was empty. She shut the door again before she walked over to Dick, who was now sitting up and staring at her like she was crazy. She gripped his hand and dragged him into her bathroom, before closing and locking the door. Finally, she sighed and leaned against the counter, collecting her thoughts before she spoke again.

"I want to take over my uncle position in his company," she muttered quietly, avoiding eye contact with Dick as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"Really?!?" Dick shouted. Hailey quickly shushed him.

"Sorry," he apologized, in a much quieter tone. "But really?"

Hailey nodded shyly. "There's just so much good he can do in the world and I want to help spread that. There's not a whole lot I can do anywhere else."

Hailey felt Dick's warm finger hook on to hers. "I think that job suits you. But I'm confused on why you think you can't help in any other way." Hailey just shrugged, gently pulling her hands away from Dick to play with her fingers.

"Well take it from me," he sighed when he realized that he wasn't going to get an answer out of her. "As long as you keep your head up and a good intention at heart, you can spread the same amount if not more good than your uncle into the world."

Hailey snorted and finally looked back up at him. "What makes you say that?"

He only gave her a secretive smirk and winked. "Something a friend told me when I thought the same as you did."

Hailey gave a gentle smile in return before she jumped as someone started pounding on the bathroom door.

"Hailey Mason! Open this door now!" Claire shouted.

Hailey rolled her eyes a little before she unlocked the door and threw it open.

"Oh good," Claire snapped, giving her a once over. "I thought you had snuck out again. I've been calling you for the past five minutes because Bruce Wayne is here and..." She trailed off suddenly.

"Uh hello Mrs. Knight," Dick greeted weakly. "I... uh, I just to, ah, check in on Hailey."

Claire continued to stare, mouth gaping open, at Dick before she turned to Hailey; a mischievous, borderline malicious, gleam entered her eyes and she finally shut her mouth and smiled.

"Richard!" she cooed. "I had no idea you were getting so acquainted with my niece."

"Uh yes ma'am," Dick murmured, fidgeting a little next to Hailey. Claire clapped excitedly.

"Dinner's ready," she turned smiling to Hailey. Hailey gave her a tight smile and tiny nod. Claire gave the other two one last glance before she turned and skipped out of the room.

"Uh, what's with the complete 180?" Dick asked.

Hailey shrugged. "Get used to it. She does it a lot." Dick hummed hesitantly but followed Hailey out of the bathroom and into the dining room. Everyone else, except Ethan who was working a little late tonight, was already seated and waiting for the two of them.

"Hailey, come sit here," Claire said, pointing to an open seat next to her.

Hailey frowned and glanced at the open seat next to Sarah, her  _usual_ and  _open_ seat. "But I always sit next to-"

"Just come here."

Hailey sighed a little as she moved to sit next to Claire as Dick took her seat next to Sarah across the table.

"So Dick," Bruce started. "Where did you get off to?" As Dick was responding, Hailey couldn't help but notice Mister Wayne's body language; he was tense, nervous, maybe even frightened? His jaw seemed to constantly be clenched and when his hand wasn't on the table, Hailey spied it gripping his napkin on his lap. He kept warily glancing at Claire whenever she spoke and his eyes would always dart around, never quite meeting her gaze. When Ethan came home, Bruce relaxed immensely.

"Darling I wasn't aware we were having Bruce over for dinner," Ethan said, chuckling weakly.

"I didn't think you would be home in time to make it," Claire pouted. "And I didn't want to bother you too much. I know how busy you are, especially during flu season." Ethan laughed and planted a kiss on Claire's forehead before he took his seat at the other end of the table.

"I'll take the dirty plates," Claire offered standing up and collecting the plates.

"I didn't realize flu season started so soon," Bruce chuckled. "It's only July."

"It usually starts later," Hailey clarified. "I haven't heard any news about it starting this soon." Hailey usually followed her uncle's doing and this was the first that she had heard about the flu season.

"That's because there isn't any news," Ethan muttered quietly. "Flu season hasn't started yet and won't for another few months." Hailey frowned.

"But then why-" Sarah started.

"Who wants ice cream?" Claire asked, walking back into the room with a full tub, bowls, and a scoop.

After ice cream, Bruce quickly announced that he and Dick had to leave. As they were getting ready to leave, Dick called Sarah and Hailey.

"So my friends and I always have a before school party," he started. "Since we're all going to the same school, I thought you guys might like to come."

"We'd love to!" Sarah chirped. "How big will it be?"

Dick shrugged. "Not too big. More than likely not over ten people."

"Oooo," Sarah gasped. "Intimate." Hailey snorted a little when she said that.

"Jesse and Justin are invited as well," Dick said. "Since they're seniors right?"

"Yep," Sarah sighed. "They'll be leaving for college soon."

"It'll be the best day of my life," Hailey said firmly. Dick raised an eyebrow.

"Jesse Adkins and I have a complicated relationship," Hailey muttered. Dick's eyes went wide as Sarah shoved her cousin a bit.

"What exactly is your relationship with them?" Dick asked quietly. "They don't live with you guys but they're here almost every day."

"It's a long story," Hailey said. "If I have time later, I'll explain."

Claire called for Sarah and Hailey to meet her in the kitchen but before Hailey could leave Dick asked one last thing.

"So you are coming to my party?" he asked.

Hailey shrugged. "Sounds fun but I should probably get the approval from Claire before I officially say yes."

"Alright," Dick said, grinning. "I'll text you the date and time."

"Alright," Hailey said, giving returning the smile.

They stood there for a few more moments before Sarah came back and dragged Hailey away from Dick.

"Stop flirting with your boyfriend and let's get this done," Sarah teased, loud enough for Dick to hear. Hailey hit Sarah with her elbow as Bruce and Ethan entered the room again. Sarah went to go happily chat with her mother, but Hailey could only notice the grim look on Ethan's face. Bruce rested a hand on his shoulder and Hailey saw him mouth 'I'm Sorry' to Ethan. Ethan only shook his head and caught Hailey's gaze. As soon as they locked eyes, Ethan genuinely grinned and winked at her; unbeknownst to him, he had ease Hailey anxious mind a little bit. She shot him a small, genuine smile of her own and went to help Sarah and Claire. After cleaning up dinner, Claire sent Hailey to her room. She was grounded, after all, but Claire only locked her bedroom door; her balcony was still usable for slipping out to complete her last night of training with the Batman. Hailey waited a little longer than usual to change into her suit and leave so that she knew the whole house was asleep.

Once she was out, she took off to Wayne Tower. Halfway there, her civilian phone buzzed and she looked at the message.

**Dick Grayson:**

**Party's next week Friday at 6. See you there!**

Hailey stifled a grin as she shoved her phone back into her pocket. She had work to do and couldn't afford to get distracted; especially by cute sons of well-known billionaires.

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

**Dick**

Dick had reached Wayne Tower a little later than usual, but he wasn't surprise that Nightingale hadn't shown up yet; she had hit her head pretty hard yesterday and, if he was being honest, he wasn't sure she would turn up again. There was a soft flurry of fabric fluttering behind him and he turned to face Bruce.

"What are you doing out?" Dick asked him confused. "Nat's got another training session today."

"This will be her training session," Bruce said gruffly. "I told you she's going on patrol with us. She needs to get used to the routine." Dick only shrugged and sat waiting for Nightingale to show up. He still wasn't happy about her joining the team-- she was far too edgy and untrusting to work on a team as close-knit as they were-- but he would admit that was excited that she was going to be handling patrol with him. He sorely needed a partner that was closer to his age; Bruce wasn't exactly relatable most of the time. Nat might give patrol a fresh and novel excitement to the boring routine. All she had to do was show up tonight, and they'd be off.

But midnight, the usual meeting time, came and went without so much as a peep from her. Soon the large grandfather clock rung one-thirty and Bruce had started getting ready to leave.

"B-man wait," Dick called. "She's never been late before. Can't we just-"

"My rules were clear," Bruce said harshly. "If she's late, she's done."

"Bruce it's the last night and she's never been late before," Dick argued.

"I gave her an extra hour and a half," Bruce snapped. "If she was just running late she would have shown up by now."

Dick stared at his mentor before he nodded solemnly.

"She's clearly not ready for the responsibility of the team like I originally thought," Bruce said. "Nightingale is no more."


	5. Chapter 4

Hailey arrived home at about two-thirty in the morning. The whole apartment was dark when she arrived, so she stopped to take the time to change into civilian clothes before dropping down on her balcony. After carefully shutting the door, she shoved her suit into the back of her closet and, flump landed on the bed. Her phone went off and she groaned as she turned on the screen. 

**Bat Shit Crazy:**

_**Deal’s off. You didn’t follow my rules. You’re forbidden from vigilante work.** _

Hailey scoffed. Figures. She sighed as she tucked her work phone away, under her pillow, and tried to go to sleep. But the night's events were running through her head. She shut her eyes and it flashed by like a movie scene. 

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

Skimming through the night air, Hailey was hoping that just this one time— just this once— Batman would be generous. She had been hours early for every single meeting for the past two months and now on the last night, she was running late. 

Landing on a rooftop, Hailey could see Wayne Tower in the distance. She was close, so damn close. But the police sirens caught her attention on a nearby bridge. If she squinted hard enough, she could see a lonely figure standing on the bridge. Unclear as to the person’s intentions, Hailey made a quick detour to check the scene out. 

Landing in the middle of the bridge, Hailey walked past the police officers standing somewhat close to the banister. 

“Hey! You can’t-“ the officer tried to grab her arm but she brushed him off and continued walking. She hopped up on the edge of the bridge and sat a ways away from the kid; he was standing and looking down into the dark water below.

“It’s not a very nice night for a swim,” Hailey called out to him. The kid looked up at her startled, his brown eyes large and tearful. 

He didn’t look much older than Jesse and Justin, with flowing blond hair and symmetrical face. He wasn’t well built and Hailey could see the hints of bruises forming around his puffy, red, and irritated eyes.

“Stay back,” he warned, leaning closer to the water. “I will jump.”

“I know,” Hailey said calmly and evenly. “I don’t doubt that. Do you mind if I sit a little closer to you?”

The kid thought for a few seconds before he nodded. 

“Thank you,” Hailey murmured, scooting three steps closer before setting herself down near the kid. She looked up at him, who was still standing.

She patted the space next to her. “Wanna sit?” 

The kid slowly nodded and sat down next to her. 

“What’s your name?” Hailey asked. 

“Does it matter?” the kid demanded.

“Well, I typically like to know the names of people I talk to.”

He frowned before he quietly muttered out a “James”.

“Hi James,” Hailey said softly. “Are you comfortable with talking about whatever happened?”

James tensed and didn’t answer.

“It’s alright if you aren’t,” Hailey said. “We can talk about other things. What do you like to do in your free time?”

James’ eye lit up and his posture lifted before he slouched over again. “I don’t want to waste your time.”

Hailey glanced up at the clock; eleven-thirty, the clock read. Hailey doubted that this kid was going to talk for only thirty minutes and Batman would freak on her ass if she was even a minute late; her whole career as a vigilante was at stake here. 

She turned James, a gentle and genuine smile beaming towards him. “I have the time.”

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

She was at that bridge until two in the morning, trying to talk James down. She was eventually successful, sent James with the police officer, and had someone pick him from the station. Knowing that there was no point in trying to meet up with the Batman, she went home. Along the way, she crossed paths with a drunk, an old lady, a few robbers, and one shady guy who was following some poor woman. She was oddly proud of her first— and last— successful night in Gotham patrol. Swallowing hard, Hailey sighed again before she sat up and stalked towards her bathroom; her objective was to chug a few glasses of water. 

After finishing her objective, she started making her way back into her room, a chilly breeze floated through her room. Hailey shivered before she stared at the open balcony door. Hadn’t she closed it? Frowning as she walked towards it, Hailey went to investigate. She glanced at the knob; it hadn’t been forced, nor was there any novice attempt to pick the lock. So either there was a professional hit man in her room or even the wind here in Gotham was abnormal. Hailey would have bet money on the first option. She shut the door, hoping that would draw her intruder into the open space of her room. 

“Thank god.” Hailey whirled around. Lounging on her bed was Hailey’s worst nightmare; Robin, dressed in his full uniform, grinning cheekily at her.

“I was getting a bit chilly,” the boy chuckled. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Hailey demanded. 

Robin propped himself up on his elbow and shrugged. “Someone asked me to check in on you.”

“Who?”

Robin grinned. “An interested party, let’s leave it at that.”

“You do realize that you can’t be here right?” Hailey demanded harshly.

Robin sat up and stared at her. “I do.”

Hailey hummed and pointed to her balcony door, signaling that she wanted him to leave. 

“But I also realize that you are quite the troublemaker. So I’m staying.”

Hailey felt her mouth drop open in shock. Who the fuck is he to say that? 

“Don’t look too shocked princess,” Robin chuckled standing and walking over to her. “I’m just kidding.”

“I-well you better be!” Hailey flubbed. 

At that moment, Hailey realized how loud she had been. At that moment, Hailey felt her heart stop. At that moment, Robin should have been running for his life. Because at that moment, Claire was standing outside Hailey’s door, knocking on it harshly. 

“Hailey?” Claire asked. “Hon are you okay?”

Hailey froze momentarily, before she leaped at Robin, tackled him, and pushed him flat on the ground. 

“Hide!” She hissed quietly in his ear. “Quickly!”

“Where?”

“Under my bed.” Hailey pushed him that direction before she staggered up to the door. 

“Hi Claire,” Hailey rasped, trying to sound like she had been awakened. “I’m fine.”

“Who were you talking to?” 

“No one!” Hailey said quickly. Perhaps too quickly for Claire’s liking. Hailey heard the lock click out of place and Claire swung the door open ramming the knob into Hailey’s side; it just happened to ram into a bruise on Hailey's rib so she gasped as she was pushed to the ground. 

“Why are you on the floor?” Claire asked. 

“Couldn’t sleep,” Hailey offered hoarsely, trying her best not to look in pain. “And you pushed the door into me.”

Claire narrowed her eyes at Hailey. “A likely story. Who’s in your room?” 

“There’s no one-“

“Hailey I thought I told you to keep it down!” Sarah shouted. She stormed into the room and glared at Hailey; it was obviously fake and half-hearted, but Hailey appreciated the gesture. 

‘ _Roll with me_ ,’ Sarah commanded. 

Hailey could only blink twice stupidly. ‘ _What_?’ 

“I said, very clearly, if we were going to stay up and text, you had to keep it down!” Sarah continued. Claire shot a glance between the cousins. 

“S-sorry, uh, sorry Sarah,” Hailey stuttered. Sarah scowled before turning on her heel and leaving. Claire looked back at Hailey-- who was now kneeling on the floor, gently cradling her side where the doorknob run into her-- looking like she wanted to argue, but she barely shrugged. 

“Keep your balcony locked,” she warned her niece. “I can feel the nightcrawlers nearby.” She blinked twice before closing and locking Hailey’s bedroom door. Hailey exhaled heavily, unknowingly holding her breath for the majority of that encounter, and stood up. 

“Wow she’s intense,” Robin whispered right in Hailey’s ear. She almost screamed except Robin covered her mouth and muffled her sound. 

“Shhh we don’t want a repeat of last time do we gorgeous?” he asked quietly. Hailey grumbled before she wiggled out of his grip. 

“Why are you even here?” she demanded softly. 

“I told you. Someone-“

“Who?” Hailey hissed. “Who would care enough to ask you to come?” 

Robin frowned. “Who else?”

Hailey huffed and crossed her arms. “I don’t know I’m asking you.”

Robin stared at her blankly before grinning. “You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you can figure it out.”

“Smart by what standard?” Hailey murmured. “Hey, where are you going?” Robin had started walking towards the balcony door. 

“I’ve gotten you into enough trouble tonight,” he chuckled. “You look exhausted. Try to get some sleep.”

“But-“

“Sleep darlin’,” Robin laughed. “I’ll see you sooner than you think.” And with a graceful bow and flourish of his cape, he backflipped off of her balcony and swung off into the night air. 

Hailey walked out to the balcony and watched him swing off into the horizon. 

“What a flirtatious dumbass.”

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

Claire was not kind to Hailey the next morning; she woke her up at six-thirty “accidentally” before saying “well since you’re already up, you can help with breakfast”. She proceeded to make pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and kale smoothies for everyone else in the house. 

And that was how Richard Grayson walked into the mostly empty Knight apartment to find Hailey asleep next to a bowl of cereal at eleven in the morning. It was also how he ended up getting a face full of cereal milk and a new hairdo with generic fruit circle cereal clinging onto his flowing locks after Hailey had been awoken and hit her spoon while stretching. 

“Sorry,” Hailey yawned. 

Dick only giggled. “At least they’re my color.” Hailey only offered a tired smile before resting her head on her arms and shutting her eyes. 

“You look shitty.”

“Ah yes, thank you, Richard.”

Dick cocked his head slightly in concern. “Did you sleep okay?”

Hailey cracked her eyes open to give him a look. Then she laughed harshly, gave him a side-eyed glance, and stood up to clean up her breakfast. 

“Where is everyone?” Dick asked, clearly trying to change the subject. 

“Claire and Ethan went to work,” Hailey said. “Sarah’s off helping Jesse and Justin. So it’s just-”

Suddenly she turned around to glare at the boy sitting prettily at the kitchen island. Her sudden movement made his eyes widen in surprise.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, hesitantly. 

“How did you get into the apartment?” Hailey demanded. “Because, obviously, I didn’t let you in.”

“I ran into Sarah in the lobby as she was leaving,” Dick explained calmly. “She told me you dozing off.”

“But the front door was locked,” Hailey pressed. Dick fished out a key from his pocket and plopped it on the table.

“She gave me a key,” he grinned. Hailey pressed her tongue against her cheek and raised an eyebrow, accepting his story. She turned back around to finish washing the dishes and she heard Dick moving around behind her. 

“You didn’t answer my question,” he said, his voice floating closer as his footsteps drew near. 

“What question?” 

“Did you sleep well last night?”

Hailey turned around only to find Richard leaning up against the counter opposite her; his eyes were boring into her, the blue orbs dancing around her face searching for some kind of answer. 

Finally, Hailey sighed. “No. I did not sleep well last night.”

“Why?” his question was immediate, barely giving Hailey time to finish her statement. Hailey shrugged, trying to remain casual. 

“Robin said-”

“Robin?” Hailey snapped. “You know him?”

Dick gave her a soft, smug look. “I do. I asked him to check in on you occasionally.”

Hailey frowned, her nose scrunching up instantly. “Why?”

He shrugged. “I was worried you’d sneak out again.” Hailey rolled her eyes and walked off towards her bedroom.

“You wanna go out?” Dick asked for the kitchen.

“I’m grounded remember?”

Hailey heard him laugh, the light sound floating and filling the entire abandoned apartment. “I already asked your aunt and uncle. They’re cool with it.”

Hailey hummed as she shut her room’s door. She pulled something to wear and set it on the bed. Walking into the bathroom she grabbed her brush and screamed when she saw Richard sitting on her bed. 

“Jesus!” Hailey gasped. “What are you doing in here?!”

“We were still talking?” the boy said, confused. Hailey threw her hairbrush at him and the poor boy had to duck in order to avoid getting hit in the head. 

“I’m changing!” Hailey screeched. Dick held up his hands in surrender before leaving the room quickly. After he shut the door, Hailey finished her task. She stepped out of her room in her outfit for the day-- she decided on a pair of gray jeans and a deep red shirt, companied by a white cardigan; she’d picked up her converse on the way out-- and was greeted by a sheepish Dick.

“I, uh, wasn’t thinking,” he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck avoiding her gaze. “So, um, sorry about that.”

Hailey chuckled a little. “I thought you were the smart out of the two of us.”

Dick’s gaze shot up. “By no means am I the smart one. You’re far above me.”

Hailey cocked an eyebrow before she walked towards the front door. She pulled on her converse as Dick stood over her, chatting about small things. Eventually, the two left to walk around the park. They strolled lazily across the street and had gone halfway around before the conversation came to a standstill. 

“So why did Sarah go over to Jesse and Justin’s?” Dick eventually asked. 

“A, uh, a friend of theirs is… visiting,” Hailey said. “She wanted to… go and um so hi.”

“Do you know their friend?” Dick asked. 

“No not very well,” Hailey stated.

Dick hummed. “How exactly did you and Sarah meet the Adkins?”

“They’re kind of like our nannies slash bodyguards,” Hailey muttered. “Their dad was one of my favorite teachers in elementary school and once he passed, Claire and Ethan returned his kindness by helping to support Justin and Jess. And well, know they’re like brothers to me.”

“Ah.” Dick fidgeted a little before continuing. “Are Sarah and Justin dating?”

Hailey snorted. “No. You think they would be with how obvious they’re acting, but those idiots can hardly tell right from left. It’s quite frustrating, watching them desperately flirt with each other.”

“And… you and Jesse?”

Hailey busted out laughing now. Dick frowned and bit his tongue in embarrassment.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Hailey explained once she calmed down a little. “There are just so many issues with that statement.”

“Such as?” Dick demanded.

“Firstly, how bold of you to assume I’m anything but single,” Hailey stated firmly. “Secondly-”

“Why would that be weird for me to assume that?” Dick interrupted. 

Hailey looked into his fierce ocean eyes before she flushed and shrugged. “I think it’s blatantly obvious.”

Dick almost growled out his response. “Well, it’s not.”

Hailey took a breath before she closed that argument with an “it’s a long story”.

Dick frowned but nodded.

“Secondly,” Hailey continued, desperate to move on from the topic, “Jesse is not into me.”

“Why wouldn’t he be into you?” Dick asked.

Hailey shrugged. “Not my place to say.”

Dick just silently nodded when she didn’t say anything more after that. They walked a little farther in silence before Dick reached out to stop Hailey from walking.

“What’s up?” she asked. He just wordlessly pointed at an ice cream truck. 

“Last one there buys,” Dick said quickly before he took off.

“Wha- hey! Dick, I don’t have my wallet!” Hailey quickly took off after him. 

By the time she got to the truck, Dick was leaning against it with a cocky smirk across his face. Hailey stopped in front of him and pouted.

“That wasn’t fair,” she mumbled. 

Dick laughed. “Sucks to be you. Pay up, Mason.”

“I don’t have my wallet with me,” Hailey complained.

Dick opened to respond when someone started shouting, “HAILEY NATALIE JESSICA MASON!” She quickly whipped around to see Jesse storming over to her, Sarah in tow. 

“What the hell are you doing out of the house?!” he demanded once he reached her and Dick. 

“I’m just-”

Sarah hit his arm and interrupted Hailey. “I already told you she was going out with Richard! Why are you overreacting?!”

“You never told me that,” Jesse accused. 

“Oooh yes, I did!” Sarah argued back. The two of them started bickering and Hailey saw Jesse’s wallet fall out of his sweatshirt pocket. She bent over and picked it up without either him or Sarah noticing.

“So what kind of ice cream you want?” Hailey asked, flipping through Jesse’s wallet. Dick raised an eyebrow.

“Should you really be doing that?” he asked.

“I’ll pay him back later,” Hailey promised. “Now ice cream?”

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

“I can’t believe you let her do that,” Jesse grumbled as Richard and Hailey happily scooped another bite of ice cream into their mouths. They had decided to share a large bowl with two scoops of chocolate fudge truffle delight with rainbow sprinkles.

“I said I’d pay you back,” Hailey promised. “Stop being lame.” 

Jesse grumbled more before he stared at the two of them eating the frozen treat. “You’re not even going to give me any!”

“Tough shit,” Hailey said, eating another bite. The three of them, plus Sarah, were walking back to the Adkin Apartment; Jesse claimed he had something to say to Hailey before she spent the rest of the day chilling with Dick. 

“Do you have whipped cream at your apartment?” Dick asked. 

“Not whipped cream that available to you, traitor,” Jesse scowled.

Sarah hit him upside the head. “Be nice. Let the two of them enjoy their date.”

“We’re not on a date,” Hailey and Dick said at the same time. 

Jesse raised an eyebrow. “Sure you two aren’t.” He stopped in front of the apartment building and buzzed everyone in. “Just like Sarah and Justin aren’t going on a date today.”

“We’re not!” Sarah shouted, her face turning a brilliant red. 

“You pretty much are,” Hailey argued, as they all climbed up the stairs to get to the Adkins’ pad. “I mean come on Sarah, you just don’t go out to dinner, to a nice expensive restaurant I might add, with a friend and then go see a movie followed up with a long midnight stroll in the park as the two of you huddle closer together to keep warm.”

“We’re just going as friends,” Sarah defended. 

“You can only put off the inevitable for so long.”

“It’s not inevitable.” Sarah snapped as Jesse opened the door. “Besides he doesn’t like me anyway.”

“Who doesn’t like Sarah?” Justin demanded as soon as they stepped through the door. “Are they bothering you, Sarah? Do you need me to-”

“No Justin I’m okay,” Sarah flubbed, embarrassed that he overheard part of the conversation.

“Are they back?” a small voice asked from the kitchen.

“Yeah we’re back,” Jesse stated, his voice dropping a little. Hailey nudged him.

‘ _What’s up with the voice change Adkins_?’ she asked him over the link.

‘ _Shut up and no matter what you do, don’t ruin this for me_ ,’ he snapped back, turning to glare at her. 

‘ _Ruin what_?’ she asked. And then a scrawny blonde kid stepped out of the kitchen and froze when he saw Hailey and Dick; Hailey recognized him from the previous night.

“Hailey, Richard,” Sarah started. “This is James. He’ll be staying here for some time.”

James dipped his head in hello. Hailey gave him a gentle smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, James,” she spoke, quietly. His eyes shot up to meet hers and he glanced at Sarah and Jesse before he grinned back.

“You must be Hailey,” he said. 

“I’m Dick,” the said boy noted quickly. “I’m Hailey’s best friend.” Hailey frowned at looked at him.

“Cool,” James said, shrugging. 

“So how long have you known Jesse and James?” Dick asked, suspiciously. 

James glanced at Sarah, Jesse, and Justin before shrugging. “A while.”

‘ _That’s what you told him_?’ Sarah exasperated. ‘ _They were friends_?’

‘ _I panicked okay_?’ Hailey said, in defense. 

“Dick do you know how to cook?” Justin blurted.

Dick’s eye widened and he shook his head.

“Well there’s no time like the present to learn,” Justin said, gripping his arm and steering him towards the kitchen.

“I’m going to go make sure they don’t blow anything up,” Sarah said, quickly waltzing after them.

“I’m going to go, uh… change,” Jesse said quietly. “Yeah, I stepped in a… a, uh, a puddle! Yes, a puddle and now my jeans are dirty.” He too rushed away, leaving James and Hailey alone. They stood in silence as the other absorbed themselves into their tasks. 

“Thank you,” James said eventually.

Hailey frowned. “For what?” 

James turned to look at her. “You saved my life did you not last night?” 

Hailey’s mouth dropped open in shocked and she stood there, wide eyes with her jaw on the floor, stumbling over a few unrecognizable syllables. 

“H-How did you-?”

“You left hand,” James stated, moving closer to grab her hand and caressed the back of her hand slowly. “You’re knuckles are bruised in the same spot as they were last night.”

“I had gloves on,” Hailey pushed out.

“You took them off at one point to check your phone,” James countered. “I saw them then.”

Hailey opened her mouth to argue before recognizing that it was pointless; James clearly already knew her secret and she practically confirmed his theory without actually saying it. She sighed. 

“You realize you can’t tell anyone,” she hissed under her breath. James winked and planted a small kiss on the back of her hand.

“As long as you don’t tell the other’s my secret,” he insisted. 

Hailey rolled her eyes. “There’s no point in keeping that secret. Jesse’s in the same boat.”

James’ eye enlarged tenfold. “He is?”

Hailey nodded and James sighed. 

“Thank god,” he muttered. “I can step up my game now.”

Hailey laughed before Sarah called her into the kitchen. Once Hailey walked in Sarah gave her a bowl full of potatoes.

“Start peelin’ girlie,” Sarah chuckled. Hailey groaned but obliged.

‘ _Quick question is there a reason why Richard is pouting like a small child_?’ she asked.

‘ _Not that I’m aware of_ ,’ Hailey responded. ‘ _Why_?’ 

Sarah glanced over her shoulder at Dick who was quietly standing next to Justin with a small, cute frown wiped across his face as he angrily shucked corn. ‘ _No reason. Just curious_.’

Hailey’s cousin then stood up and grabbed Dick’s arm and sat him down next to Hailey. She then took over the job of shucking corn and chatting up Justin.

“I thought you didn’t know him that well,” Dick grumbled and he peeled potatoes.

Hailey bit her inside cheek as she debated on telling him the truth. “I don’t. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be courteous.”

“Sounded a more than courteous to me,” Dick grumbled.

“Oh stop getting jealous Grayson,” Hailey laughed. 

Dick harshly set down his peeler. “I’m not jealous.”

“Sure you aren’t.”

“I’m not!”

“Yes, you are.”

“Not.”

“Are.”

“Not.”

“Are.”

“Okay kids stop bickering and finish the potatoes,” Justin growled out.

Hailey stuck her tongue out at him. 

They worked in silence for a few more moments until Hailey quietly muttered to Dick. 

“Are.”


	6. Chapter 5

"Your protege is a horrible listener," Bruce growled to Dinah who stood over his shoulder at the helm of the Batcomputer. They were reviewing security footage from a bank robbery. For the most part, it looked like a normal job, until one of the men dragged in a female hostage. Not long after, a window shattered and in flew Nightingale; obviously, she had ignored Bruce's instruction and continued with vigilante work.

Dinah shrugged. "Then I taught her well."

"You taught her to disobey orders?" Bruce barked.

"I taught her to ignore bullshit, Wayne," Dinah snapped back. "Which very clearly, she has."

"The public is in a panic," Bruce argued. "Everyone wants to know who this new hero is."

"Wasn't that your plan?" Dinah reminded him. "Or did you have an ulterior motive for my protege?"

Dick just sat back and let the two of them argue it out; his mind was elsewhere anyway. It was Thursday night, meaning that tomorrow was the end of summer/ start of school party that he was throwing. And Hailey was coming. Ethan gave her the okay and Dick was ecstatic when he found out. And then he heard James was coming, and he was less ecstatic.

"So you just wanted to use my protege for a stupid recon mission?" Dinah hissed, drawing Dick back into reality.

Bruce sighed. "Dinah you know that's not what I meant. I'm saying that she could have been an ace up our sleeves if we ever needed it."

"You can find other aces," Dinah growled. "Nat deserves better than being sidelined. Look at what she's doing Bruce. She's following everything you taught her and she's not really lashing out too far. And she's not taking credit."

"Wait what?" Dick broke in. "She's not?"

Dinah shook her head. "She told me herself. She leaves the scene before anyone can see her."

"But there are witnesses?"

"Witnesses are easy to persuade," Bruce mused. "This would explain the phone calls from Jim thanking for jobs I never did."

As if on cue, the computer phone rang and Bruce answered with a gruff "yes?". He groaned and rubbed his face.

"I'm doing my job, Jim," he muttered. "Yes, I know that I'm working harder than usual but it's a part of the job."

He hung up quickly and Dinah frowned and crossed her arms at him.

"You seem to have no problem taking credit for Nat's work," she growled.

Bruce shrugged. "She left it open for the taking."

"This is ridiculous," Dinah hissed. "I'm leaving. The next time I see Nat on TV it better be with a headline about Batman's new kid." She stormed away and exited the cave quickly. As soon as she was gone, Bruce sighed and rubbed his temples.

"This girl is giving me a headache," he grumbled.

Dick shrugged. "Would it really be so bad to just let her join our patrol?"

Bruce shook his head quickly. "Her guardian wants her to stay out of trouble."

Dick's jaw dropped. "You figured out who she is?"

Bruce leaned over the computer keyboard. "I was told."

"Dinah told you?"

"Her guardian," Bruce said shaking his head. "Someone I've been good friends with a while."

"So her guardian figured out you were-?"

Bruce nodded. "Yes. It's obvious where she gets her brains from."

Dick frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"She's a lot smarter than I expected."

Dick blinked twice in shocked. "Wow she must be a genius if she can outsmart you," he mused, still having fully processed what he said.

"Not a genius," Bruce noted. "But she's sly. Much more clever than you and most of the League."

Suddenly, he chuckled; Bruce Wayne-- aka the Batman aka the Dark Knight aka the one person who hardly cracks a smile-- laughed. Dick froze uncertain of how to proceed with the conversation.

"Dinah chose well," he finished, standing up and staring at the frozen, blurry image of Nightingale. "Let's you get to bed, Dick. You've got a big day tomorrow. Hailey's coming over right?"

Dick hummed. "Yeah." Suddenly he stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked.

"Wally's coming," Dick said, suddenly dreading the next day.

Bruce laughed. "Good luck then."

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

It was about five-thirty the next afternoon and Dick was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. He had barely gotten any sleep the night before and frankly was a mess that morning. He had spent the majority of the time that morning trying to get everything to perfection-- he had rearranged the pillows four times-- before Alfred practically threw him into the shower to get ready. By the time Dick had finally gotten calmed and freshened up, the doorbell rang, throwing him right back into his panic. Alfred was trying his best to finish getting everything ready and Bruce was trying to calm Dick down-- "Fretting about it is only going to make it worse, Dick. Just relax. It's just a gathering," he'd say--, but by the time the door was opened only Wally stood there. Dick groaned and rolled his eyes, storming back into the living room before plopping down on the sofa.

"I know I'm usually too pretty to look at head-on," Wally teased. "But, uh, what's with the sour welcome?"

Dick sighed. "It's nothing." Wally hummed unconvinced. The bell rang again and Dick jumped up to answer the door.

"Sup nerd," Barbara greeted as she waltzed into the entryway.

"Oh, it's you," Dick grumbled before turning his back again and slumping back over to the couch where Wally was.

"Uh okay," Barbara said. "Thanks for that. Nice to know that you care so much about me."

"Don't get too discouraged," Wally told her. "He did the same with me."

Barbara gasped. "You must be sick, nerd."

"I'm not sick," Dick snapped. And the doorbell rang again and the whole cycle repeated: Again for Artemis. Again with Kate Kane. Again with Kaldur.

"Ugh!" Dick growled as he fell on the couch once again as Sarah, Jesse, Justin, and James showed up. Without Hailey.

"I'm sorry Dick," Sarah muttered. "Claire didn't want Hailey to leave."

Dick sighed, sitting up. "It's alright Sarah. It's not your fault."

A silence fell over the small group he had gathered.

"Snacks are ready in the dining room," Alfred interrupted.

"Aw sweet!" Wally exclaimed. He zipped off, followed by everyone else; everyone except Artemis.

"You good, dork?" she asked. Dick just nodded before he laid down on the couch again.

"You wanna come hang with the rest of us?" she tried again.

Dick shook his head. "You go ahead. I need a minute." She hummed and Dick shut his eyes as he heard her walking away. The living room was now completely silent before the doorbell rang again and this time Dick didn't move.

"I got the door Master Dick," Alfred noted as he strode past. Dick hummed and stayed on the couch. He vaguely heard Alfred talking with whoever was at the door. Two sets of footsteps echoed throughout the house as they approached the living room.

"Guest for you Master Dick," Alfred hummed as he passed again.

Dick grunted as he heard someone stop right in front of him. "Thanks, Al."

"I'll be the rest of your guest in the dining room," Alfred said again, his retreating footsteps confirming his story.

Dick and the other person stood in silence for a moment.

"You know I expected a bigger welcome, Grayson." Dick's eyes shot open as he bolted up to see Hailey leaning over the back of the couch, grinning at him. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and a heavy leather jacket sat over her shoulders. A pair of red sunglasses sat on top of her head and she held leather gloves in her hands.

He was drawn out of his thoughts when she laughed. "I can pretty much see you drooling Richard." Dick shook his head a bit, trying to collect his thoughts, and chuckled.

"I was getting worried that you weren't going to show up," he admitted sheepishly. She laughed again and Dick reached over the couch and threw her over it. She squealed as he dragged her close and enveloped her into a hug.

"What took you so long," he grumbled like a five-year-old.

She sighed. "I'll tell you later. I don't want to think too much of it right now." Dick hummed and held her closer.

Then Wally entered the room.

"Richard Grayson you have a girlfriend?!" He shouted upon seeing his friend and Hailey wrapped up together. Dick quickly let Hailey go as everyone else came flooding into the living room.

Dick bounced to his feet and started stuttering out excuses. "She, uh, she's not... she's erm... she's..."

"Yeah I'm his girlfriend," Hailey interrupted.

"You ARE?!?" Sarah screeched.

Hailey shrugged and smirked. "Yeah. I'm a friend that's a girl. What else would I be?"

"Boo," Jesse shouted from the back. "Lame joke. Get new content."

"Fight me, Adkins," Hailey shot back.

Before either of them could move, Wally sidled up next to Hailey and hugged her tightly.

"I love you more than Richard ever could," he told her.

Someone threw a spoon at him. "Wally!"

"What?" he asked. "Any girl who put up with Pretty Boy here is a textbook definition of an angel."

"One more word Wallace," Artemis growled at him.

Barbara scoffed. "Yeah Wallace, don't piss off your girlfriend."

"I apologize for interrupting," Hailey said managing to wiggle her way out of Wally's arms. "But who are you guys?"

"I'm Artemis," the blonde greeted sourly. "That's my idiot redhead boyfriend Wally." The said boy wiggled his eyebrows at Hailey.

"Don't worry angel. I'm a faithful man. I stay in my lane." he winked at her. Artemis growled and dragged him from the room.

"He's... interesting," Hailey whispered to Dick. She was frowning where the two last were, her eyebrows knit close together in confusion. She appeared to be thinking.

Dick sighed. "Tell me about it."

Barbara was next. "Barbara Gordon. I'm this nerd's favorite."

"Gordon," Hailey mused, as she shook Barbara's hand. "Like-?"

"Yup like the commissioner," Barbara said. "Hailey Mason, right?"

Hailey seemed shocked but nodded nevertheless. "How did you-?"

"I've seen with your uncle before," Barbara said. "Magazine covers and what not."

Hailey rolled her eyes. "Right, I forgot those existed."

"Kate Kane," the other redhead stated. "We're Wayne family friends."

Hailey smiled and greeted the other girl.

Then she locked eyes with Kaldur. Dick didn't know how else to describe it other than this; Hailey recognized Kaldur. Her eyes shifted quickly up and down the boy's body and darted across his face quickly. They widened a bit but she quickly adjusted her facial expressions and smiled.

"Hailey Mason," she said quickly, still looking a bit wary.

Kaldur smiled. "You may call me Kaldur."

"What a lovely name," Hailey said, still with the same smile but there was something behind her words as she shook his hand; an almost defensive tone towards Kaldur with just a hint of malice.

Kaldur seemed to catch on to it as well-- Dick knew him too well to not notice-- but he brushed it off quickly. He dipped his head in greeting and lifted her hand up. He pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand and stared at her over the top of her knuckled.

"It's always nice to meet a friend of Dick's," he muttered, dropping her hand. The two of them stood, facing each other, staring each other down almost as if they were trying to establish dominance over the other. Even Wally, who was dumber than a rock in social situations, froze and stared at the confrontation that Hailey was having with Kaldur.

"What are they doing?" he asked Dick; though he spoke quietly, the silence shattered around them snapping both Hailey and Kaldur out of their stance. Hailey pulled her gaze away first.

"It's very nice to meet you all," she said with a grin. Her eyes landed on Wally again, but this time it was like she was meeting him for the first time again. Her smile faltered a bit but she perked back up when Sarah started talking.

"So do have a plan on what we're doing this evening?" she asked quickly.

"I was thinking a movie," Dick said.

"What movie?" Hailey asked.

Dick shrugged. "Anything really." Hailey hummed as Wally raced off to go pick out a movie.

Sarah followed close behind him stating, unnecessarily loudly, "I just hope no one picks out a horror movie. I just can't stand horror. Too scary in my opinion."

Justin just laughed and wrapped her up into a hug. "I'll protect you. Nothing will come close while I'm around." Sarah stuttered and blushed as she grinned happily snuggling deeper into Justin's arms. The two of them were making quite a scene. A big enough scene to where Dick almost didn't notice Hailey and Artemis sneaking backing into the kitchen. Almost. They returned not a moment later, sharing secretive glances. Wally ended up choosing the movie, some rom-com that Sarah was very excited to see, and everyone migrated to the home theater that Bruce had. Wally, Sarah, Justin, Jesse, and James settled in the front row with Wally sitting directly next to Sarah.

"Art don't you want to go sit with your boyfriend?" Barbara asked. Artemis shook her head.

"I want to get to know Hailey a bit more." She slid up next to the dark-haired girl.

Kaldur hummed. "I would also like to get to know Hailey a bit more." Hailey shrugged.

"Okay, where do you guys want to sit?" Dick asked the three of them.

Artemis stared at Dick. "No, you're sitting with the other two. Away from us."

"Why can't I sit with Hailey?" Dick pouted.

Hailey raised an eyebrow. "Is that an issue Grayson?" Dick frowned before he carefully shook his head.

"Then come on nerd," Barbara said as she and Kate tugged Dick away from the other three.

"I'll see you later Richard," Hailey laughed as he pouted. Barbara and Kate sat Dick down next to James and filled in the other two spots next to him.

"Hello again Dick," James greeted politely.

"Hey James," Dick grumbled in reply.

Suddenly Wally stood up. "Art are you sitting all the way in the back?" Dick looked back as well. His brow furrowed when he saw Artemis, Kaldur, and Hailey sitting as far away from everyone else as they could. What were they up to?

"Yes Wallace," Artemis called back.

"Babe I promise it was a joke!" he called back. "Babe, I'm sorry! I swear! Please don't be mad at me!"

"I'm not mad Wally!" his girlfriend replied. "I just like sitting in the back."

"Then I should come a-"

"No!" Artemis shouted. "Stay there. I'll meet up with you later." Dick frowned. What was going on?

⬥ ⬥ ⬥

**Artemis**

"Wow I didn't think you'd lie to your precious boyfriend," Hailey chuckled as Artemis sat down.

"He looks so sad," Kaldur noted.

Artemis shrugged. "I'll make it up to him."

"You want me to get the condoms?" Hailey asked, cheekily. Artemis slapped her arm and the dark-haired girl giggled.

"So," Kaldur started as the movie began. "Nightingale, right?"

Hailey's smile fell instantly. Her face grew serious. "What gave it away?"

"I thought you look familiar when we first met," Kaldur said. "I did a bit more digging. With Black Canary's permission of course."

"Ah Dinah," Hailey scoffed. "Always trying to get me to make friends."

"You realize you can't tell anyone right?" Artemis butted in.

Kaldur nodded solemnly. "Black Canary made that excessively clear."

"For good reason," Hailey said. "Do you know what kind of scandal my family could face because of this?"

"You say that like you plan on stopping," Artemis pointed out. Hailey turned to look at her. Her brown were hard to decipher in the dark but with the small amount of light Artemis got from the screen she could at least see the determination in her friend's eye.

"You know damn well why I can't," Hailey whispered. Artemis sighed and nodded.

"Never said I wanted you to."

The three of them sat in silence for a moment.

"So how is it that the two of you met?" Kaldur asked.

"Canary introduced us," Artemis said.

Hailey grumbled. "Obviously, she has a thing about making me make friends."

"Do you not make them easily?"

Artemis snorted. "Not in the slightest. She almost stabbed me when we first met."

"In my defense, you totally attacked me first," Hailey muttered.

"That's highly debata-"

Suddenly a dark figure loomed over the three of them.

"If you guys are going to talk," Dick growled. "Don't do it during the movie."

Artemis chuckled. "What you going to do about it?" Dick stuck his lip out at her and reached out a hand. He pulled Hailey up from her seat and threw her over his shoulder.

"You can get to know her later," he pouted and walked away with a confused Hailey dangling over his shoulder. Wally was quick to take her spot.

"Babe I'm really really-"

"Wally," Artemis sighed. "I'm not mad at you. Calm down. There's no reason to be upset."

Wally shot her a pair of his largest puppy dog eyes. "You mean it?" Artemis gave him a soft smile and nodded. Wally then gave her a wicked grin and leaned over to whisper to her.

"Then you can make it up to me by helping with a new problem of mine."

Kaldur cleared his throat. "Please. Not while I'm here." The three of them laughed quietly before settling in to watch the movie.

It passed by pretty quickly; Wally and Artemis had spent most the time cuddling, much to Kaldur's dismay.

"I should have sat with the others," he sighed once the three of them moved down to meet up with the rest of the group.

Wally laughed and clapped him on the back. "Sorry about that buddy." Kaldur gave him a certain look before Sarah rushed up to them.

"You guys have to be quiet," she whispered.

"Why?" Artemis replied.

Sarah waved them onward with a flick of her hand, and the three of them followed her closely. As they got closer to one of the seats, she pressed her index finger to her lips. She then walked them all around to the front to ogle at the display; Dick had Hailey sat on his lap, her head tucked into his neck, and her arm wrapped lazily around his neck. Dick had his cheek resting on her head and his hand placed nice and innocently around her waist.

"Oh how cute," Kate cooed.

"Does Dick have a thing for her?" Barbara asked, hesitantly.

"Do you have a thing for him?" Wally asked, nudging her a bit. Barbara flushed a deep red and muttered something about his comment not "being on topic".

"Do you think he's in a deep enough sleep where I can get out?" Hailey whispered, surprising everyone.

"I thought you were sleeping," Dick muttered back.

Hailey hummed. "Maybe if we keep pretending, they'll leave."

"Get up Mason," Jesse scolded. "That was a dirty joke." Hailey cracked an eye open and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Deal with it, Junior."

"I'm older than Justin!" Jesse shouted.

Hailey chuckled and shrugged. "Course you are Junior."

Jesse growled. "You have three seconds to run." Hailey squealed as she shot off of Dick's lap and darted off, Jesse following close behind. Her soft laughter echoed down the hall as the two of them faded away.

"So Richard?" Wally asked. "Did Al make more food."

Dick nodded and Artemis's boyfriend raced off. She sighed and followed behind him. He was kind enough to wait right outside the kitchen for her.

"What do you think about her?" he asked eagerly.

"Who Hailey?" Artemis asked. Wally nodded eagerly.

"I think she's cool," he said, not giving her a chance to answer his own question. "Dick seems to like her. And if Dick likes her, she's probably chill."

"She's alright," Barbara interrupted. "A bit weird if you ask me."

Artemis scoffed. "That's because you're jealous of how close she is with Grayson." Barbara shot the two of them a "shut up" look and continued into the kitchen. Artemis shrugged and followed her in. Not long after Wally and Artemis entered, Sarah and her other two companions entered. Artemis caught Sarah's eye and winked. Sarah gave her a grin and a small nod; Hailey had introduced the two very briefly so it was nice to see the girl again.

"How are you doing?" Artemis asked quietly, as the blonde bounced up next to her.

"I'm doing pretty good," she murmured. "I didn't know you lived in Gotham."

Artemis nodded as Sarah continued. "I think Hailey's excited to see you here," she paused, grabbing a small handful of chips laid out across the big table, "so it's good to know she has at least one person in the city who can look after her."

"I thought she was working with the big B-man?" Artemis asked as the two moved away from the rest of the group.

"He kicked her out," Justin butted in; Artemis wasn't aware he was following them. "H said something about him having a stick up his ass." They all laughed at that.

"She ain't wrong," Artemis muttered, stealing one of Sarah's chips. The girl pouted and Justin chuckled. All of the sudden, Jesse came bursting in the room, panting.

"Have... any of you... seen... Hailey?" he asked; he was doubled over and staring up at them with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. They all shook their heads and Jesse cursed.

"Why?" Sarah asked, worriedly.

Jesse straightened and waved a small rectangle in front of their faces. Artemis then realized it was a phone.

"I found her phone," he said, regaining some of his breath. "But I haven't seen her. That girl is too darn fast."

"What?!" Sarah screeched. "Jesse how could you let her out of your sight?!"

"It wasn't my intention to!" Jesse shouted back.

The kitchen door burst open and everyone else came flooding out. Kaldur was first to speak. "What's wrong?"

"Jesse lost Hailey," Justin groaned.

"This is not my fault," Jesse argued. "We all know how fast that girl is." Artemis hummed in agreement.

"Okay here's the plan," Justin and Kaldur said at the same time. They turned to look at each other, frowning.

"We'll split up," Dick took over this time. "Wally and Artemis. Sarah and James. Jesse and Kate. Justin and Barbara. Me and Kal." Everyone nodded.

"Keep your phones on," Dick ordered. "We'll keep in touch that. If someone finds her, texts the rest of us."

"Some of us don't have everyone's numbers," Kate pointed out.

"Text Dick," Justin said. "He should everyone's number." They all nodded.

"Sarah, James, Jesse, and Kate check the house," Kaldur picked up. "Justin and Barbara check the front. Wally and Artemis check the backyard. Dick and I will check wherever needs to be checked."

"Might I recommend the maze in the backyard," Alfred interrupted. "People can get frighteningly lost in there."

"Thanks, Al," Dick said. "Okay let's go." And with that, they all dispersed.

"He totally has a thing for her," Wally muttered to Artemis as they quickly walked out to the backyard.

Artemis shook her head. "Too soon to tell Wallace. Don't make a big deal out of it."


	7. Chapter 6

“How did you even get up that high?” Sarah demanded as everyone was spread out in the living room.  She, Justin, and Jesse were all leaning on each other: Barbara, Dick, and Kate were laying on the floor: Kaldur was standing behind the couch and Wally and Artemis were wrapped up in each other, obviously. Hailey shrugged, her head on James’ lap as he was braiding her hair; both Dick and Jesse were glaring slightly at the two of them.

“I’ve climbed taller,” she said.

‘ _ Skyscrapers don’t count _ ,’ Jesse scolded. Hailey shot him a quick grin before she turned to the next person speaking. 

“You were born in Boston,” Wally stated. “Where’d you learn how to climb trees?”

“Firstly there are trees in Boston, West,” Hailey said. “Secondly I wasn’t born in Boston. I moved there when I was four.”

“Where were you born then?” Barbara asked.

“Here,” Hailey said casually. “Ow! James be careful!”

“Sorry doll,” he hummed nonchalantly, still not stopping his work.

“You were born in Wayne Manor?” Wally asked. 

Artemis slapped him upside the head. “She meant in Gotham, you idiot.”

“How’d you know that?” Kate asked.

“Well, I’m assuming,” Artemis clarified. “But it makes more sense that way.” 

Hailey hissed as James pulled a bit too hard again. “She’s right, though.”

“Wait really?” That caught Dick’s attention away from James. “You were born in Gotham?”

“Oh yeah,” Hailey said, waving her hand as if she could wave the topic away. “Before my mom passed.”

“How’d your mom die?” Kaldur asked gently.

“That’s not important,” Hailey chuckled. “I must say, I haven’t been to a lot of parties. But this one sucks, so Grayson… fix it.”

“Why me?’ he asked.

“It’s your party,” Kate laughed. “Shouldn’t you do something about it?”

“Well… yeah,” Dick pouted. “But I don’t…”

“Truth or Dare!” Sarah shouted, jumping up from the couch and bouncing up and down. “Let’s play Truth or Dare!” Everyone jumped at her volume.

“Sarah,” Hailey told her cousin. “Chill.”

Sarah flushed and flumped back down next to Justin. “Sorry. I’ve just never played it before.”

“Well now we have to play,” Wally insisted. “Sarah… Truth or Dare?” 

Sarah squealed before answering. “Truth.”

Wally thought for a moment before answering. “Who’s older, You or Hailey?”

“Me,” Sarah answered quickly. “That was lame. My turn!”

Her eyes found Hailey’s and Hailey nodded towards Dick. Sarah grinned. “Dick. Truth or Dare?”

Dick scoffed. “Dare.” The teens all oohed at his boldness.

“Oh I don’t have any dares,” Sarah muttered.

‘ _ Dare him to drink out of the toilet like a dog, _ ’ Hailey chimed in. 

Sarah wrinkled her nose. ‘ _ Ew. Gross, no. _ ’

‘ _ Act like a dog? _ ’

Sarah actually looked at Hailey this time. ‘ _ What is it with you and making Richard a dog? _ ’

‘ _ It would amuse me, _ ’ Hailey admitted, raising an eyebrow.

Sarah frowned. “I dare you,” she started eventually, “to… act like… a dog for your next turn.”

“What?” Dick looked vaguely offended as Hailey and Barbara snorted. The two caught get other’s eyes and gave each other a small grin. 

“Act like a dog Richard,” Hailey chuckled. Dick growled at her.

“See you’re already in character,” Artemis chuckled. Wally chuckled as he planted a quick kiss against Artemis’ forehead. Dick frowned but didn’t say anything.

“Pick your person Richard,” Kate told him, clearly amused. Dick scowled again and opened his mouth to speak. 

“Dogs don’t talk Grayson,” Jesse reminded him. Dick pouted but crawled over to the person that he wanted to pick; he hopped up on the couch and sat directly on Hailey. 

“Oh god you’re heavy,” she sputtered. “You can get off me now.” Dick shot her a wink but obeyed anyway.

“I’ll speak for Richard,” Wally stated grandly as he puffed out his chest, exaggerating his act causing everyone to laugh. “Miss Hailey Mason… Shall you speak your truth or perform your dare?”

“Dare,” Hailey said easily. Dick had sat right next to her, his arm slung over the edge of the couch, and was now whining like an actual dog. 

“Dick can speak for this next part,” Sarah said quickly, a teasing look in her eye. Hailey quickly stuck her tongue out at her.

Dick opened his mouth to speak, but Kaldur beat him to it. “Braid Dick’s hair.” Everyone cawed with pleasure and Hailey sat up, happy to oblige. 

“Turn around dog boy,” she told him. Dick growled at her but followed her instruction anyway. James was still working on Hailey’s hair, so the three of them sat in a line just braiding each other’s hair. 

“Your turn Hail,” Jesse commented. Hailey grinned and the game continued. By the time Bruce walked in, Dick’s hair was braided in three little tails with his shirt tied around his chest exposing his torso, Wally had toothpaste in his hair, Artemis had sharpie on her arm with her hair drenched and put in a purple sock, Sarah and Justin had changed clothing, Kate had her shoes on the wrong feet, Barbara has lipstick on her eyebrows, James had made out with a pillow, Jesse has his shirt turned inside out with his pants on backward and his nails painted-- he was really excited about that one--, Hailey was wearing a homemade flower crown out of weeds, and Kaldur was completely unaffected as he stood behind the couch trying not to laugh at his peers.

“You kids look like you’ve had fun,” Bruce chuckled gazing around the room. 

“We’re all very amused sir,” Justin agreed, trying to tug Sarah’s jeans up to cover his underwear. Sarah glanced over and flushed when she saw what he was doing. Hailey snorted quietly. As her gaze floated back over to Bruce, her eyes caught on the newspaper he was clutching in his fist. Her eyes narrowed when she thought she saw the word “gale” on the headline so she turned around to face Bruce.

“Could I possibly look at that newspaper Mr. Wayne?” she asked politely trying to not sound suspicious. “I haven’t read it yet today.”

Bruce nodded and passed her the paper. “You like to stay updated Hailey?”

“I do,” Hailey said with a smile, “thank you, Mr. Wayne.”

Bruce shook his head. “Call me Bruce, Hailey. I’ve told you before.”

Hailey blinked twice. “Uh… y-yeah. Okay.” She nodded once awkwardly before turning back around to read the paper. Her blood stopped cold when she saw the headline. 

“Read it out loud Hail,” Sarah insisted. “We’re all curious now.” James glanced over her shoulder and gasped.

“Oh my,” he muttered. Hailey shot him a look and he returned her gaze.

‘ _ That’s not a good sign, _ ’ James said.

‘ _ No it’s not. _ ’ Hailey agreed, pulling her gaze away from him.

“Well, what does it say?” Dick asked.

Hailey cleared her throat before speaking. “Batman’s New Bird, the Nightingale.” The room went silent.

‘ _ Oh that’s a really not good sign, _ ’ Jesse pointed out. 

Hailey shot him a glare and continued to read. “With people trying to figure out who this mysterious newcomer is, experts believe her to in cohorts with the Dark Knight. The question is, is this new bird friend or foe? Read the full story on page 13.” 

“What experts could tell that?” Dick asked. No one answered him as they sat in silence thinking. 

Finally, Kaldur broke the quiet. “Who wrote it?” Hailey quickly flipped to the story to get the name of the journalist and gritted her teeth she saw.

“Vicki Vale,” she growled out. 

‘ _ Didn’t you meet up with her last week? _ ’ Sarah asked.

‘ _ Yes, _ ’ Hailey snapped. ‘ _ She said she’d keep quiet. _ ’

Jesse scoffed. ‘ _ Clearly, she didn’t. _ ’

‘ _ What are we supposed to do now? _ ’ James asked.

‘ _ Nothing, _ ’ Justin said. ‘ _ Hailey’s got to make the decision. _ ’ The other four glanced at Hailey. Hailey herself was deep in thought until someone rested a hand on her knee. She blinked quickly and stared at the person touching her.

“You okay?” Dick asked quietly. Hailey nodded and gave him a weak smile.

“I just have to call someone real quick,” she said. She stood quickly and left the room. She handed Bruce his newspaper back as she passed him and she stalked directly outside. The was a black and red bike towards the garage and she stood next to it as she fished her phone out of her pocket. She quickly punched in a number and waited for the person to pick up.

“Vicki Vale Gotham Gazette,” the reporter chirped over the phone. 

“I thought we had an agreement Vale,” Hailey growled. 

Vale paused before chuckling. “Kid I just had too.”

Hailey rolled her eyes. “For what reason?”

“Besides the killer news story? Honey, we need more heroes like you.”

“You really don’t,” Hailey grumbled. “You seemed to be doing fine without me.”

“But now we’re doing better,” Vicki stated. “Besides, I didn’t get your number and I needed your attention. I have what you asked for.”

Hailey rolled her eyes again. “I was going to stop by tonight.”

“Not tonight. Jeff’s coming over,” Vicki said. 

“Who’s Jeff?” Hailey asked. 

Vicki laughed. “Don’t worry about it kid. Anyway, meet me on top of the Gazette at two this morning so I can give you the thing.”

Hailey huffed. “Fine. But no more stories.”

Vicki chuckled again. “Honey, you’re far past secrecy. Do you know how many people came in when I posted that I wanted information on you?”

“Can’t say I know,” Hailey responded. 

“Fifty-five,” Vicki whispered. “Not to mention the hundred plus responses I got on online.” Hailey tried to not feel too pleased. “Honey, you’re doing things to this city. Things that, frankly, I don’t think the Bat could do.”

“How so?” Hailey asked.

Vicki was quiet for a moment before responding quieter. “Doesn’t matter. Point is, you’re doing something.”

Hailey swallowed hard. “Somehow I doubt that’s true but thanks for the attempt to make me feel better.” Just then someone tapped her shoulder and Hailey whirled around to see Dick standing there, looking just a bit concerned.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Hailey said into the receiver. “I’ll call you again when I need more details on our meeting.”

“Wait Nigh-” Hailey hung up.

“Who was that?” Dick asked. 

Hailey waved her hand. “Just a friend. She’s in town visiting from Boston. We’re talking about meeting up.” Dick hummed. 

“That sounds nice.”

Hailey nodded. The two sat in awkward silence for a moment, which Hailey found weird. While they hadn’t known each other for long, she and Dick were past the point where they fell into conversation lulls; there was always something interesting to talk about so Hailey was confused as to why she couldn’t come up with something now. 

“Nice bike,” Dick then said. “Is it your’s?”

Hailey glanced behind her at the machinery. “Oh… yeah, it is.”

“Did you drive it over here?” Dick frowned. 

Hailey shrugged. “Yeah.”

“How?” Dick asked. “You can’t get your license until you’re sixteen.”

‘ _ Because secretly I run around at night doing vigilante work because Batman is a trick ass bitch, _ ’ Hailey almost said. 

“The laws are different in Boston,” she said shrugging. “I was able to get it early.” Dick hummed, a little unconvinced. But he shook it off a minute later.

“How long have you had it?” he asked.

Hailey snorted. “Claire gifted it to me today as an apology for grounding me,” she said sourly, “She feels bad about it.”

Dick frowned again. “You don’t sound too happy about it.”

Hailey just sighed and shook her head. “She does this all the time. Overreact and then try to buy me back with things like this.”

“Why’s that?”

Hailey shrugged. “Beats me. Honestly, I think she’s a shopaholic. Constantly buying things that she doesn’t need. But then she passes it off as she was gifting it to someone else. Last time,” Hailey started as she sat down on the motorcycle seat, “She got a diamond bedazzled watch and then gave it to Sarah for her birthday.”

“Well that was nice,” Dick noted.

“Sarah’s birthday was six months earlier and she got a gold watch then,” Hailey said. 

Dick mouth a small ‘oh’ before he sat down next to her on the motorcycle seat. “Your aunt sounds like she needs a lot of material items. But I thought you came from a wealthy family?” 

Hailey shook her head. “Ethan came from a wealthy family. Claire married into the wealth. My mother and she were not very well off. But my mom got a pretty well paying job before she had me and we were set for a while.”

“What did your mother do?” Dick asked quietly.

“She was a performer,” Hailey murmured. “A dancer. God, she loved that job. Then she quit.”

“Why’d she quit if she liked it so much?”

Hailey’s face spread in a small sad smile. “She got pregnant with me. She didn’t want to run the risk of losing me if she had an accident. So she quit.”

Dick hummed. “Did she live with your father?”

Hailey snorted. “My father was a one night stand. Two strangers that met in the night and conceived me. She lived with him after she got pregnant and a little while after I was born but she moved out before I turned one.”

“Why’s that?”

Hailey shrugged again. “Claire’s never told me specifically. Something about my father being a very evil man.”

Dick was quiet for a moment. “Do you think he’s evil?”

“I’ve never met the guy,” Hailey said. “Only heard things.”

Dick hummed and they fell into silence again.

“What was she like?” he eventually whispered.

Hailey furrowed her brows and thought. “I’m not sure. I can’t remember a lot about her. I’ve only got pictures and Claire’s stories.”

“What does she look like?”

Hailey sighed. “I’m told she was beautiful. I look a lot like her, according to Claire. I can’t see it but everyone does.” 

“I bet you look a lot like her,” Dick whispered. “You’re… you-you’re quite beautiful too.” Hailey scoffed as she blushed.

“What were your parents like?” she asked, trying to change the subject. “If you want to-”

“They were the best people in the world,” Dick said firmly. “Honest people. They just… they just were victims of desperate times.”

“I thought they were murdered,” Hailey asked quietly, trying not to upset the boy. Dick nodded.

“They were,” he said sourly. “But the reason they were killed was for collateral. They used to work for a circus. The ringmaster and circus owner, Jack, owed some dangerous people money. My parents were killed because he refused to pay them back.”

Hailey was quiet for a moment. “Were you ever mad at Jack for his actions?”

Dick shook his head as his jaw tightened. “They were asking for more than what the agreed amount was. He was right to refuse them. He had no idea my parents would have been killed.” Dick went quiet and Hailey saw something drop from his eye; he was crying. Hailey leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. Dick stiffened when she did but in the end, he reached his hand over to grip her’s. He pulled her hand over to his lap and just held it there for a moment.

“I’m really glad I met you,” he whispered as he started playing with her fingers. His hands were warm while Hailey’s where starting to turn cold in the chilly air that carried the promise of an equally chilly fall. His fingertips were smooth as they ran over the back of Hailey’s hand and his palm was lightly squeezing her hand in an attempt to console the two of them. 

“Why’s that?” Hailey finally asked after a little bit. 

Dick shrugged gently. “I don’t think I’ve met anyone who has the same predicament as I do. I mean the closest I’ve ever gotten is Bruce and Bruce can be… hard to relate to at times.”

Hailey hummed. The two of them were quiet for a moment. Then Dick said something in a language Hailey wasn’t expecting.

“Was that Romani?” 

Dick looked at her shocked. “You know Romani?”

Hailey scrunched her nose up. “I can recognize it. I can’t speak or understand it.” 

Dick grinned before he flushed. “Do… Do you want me to… to uh… teach you?” He was muttering and Hailey was having a hard time hearing him. But when she finally figured what he said, she laughed.

“If you wish,” she said, absentmindedly entangling her fingers with his. “I think I’d like that.” Dick grinned again but his face was still flaming red. 

“You two are adorable,” someone commented. Hailey jumped a little when she saw Jesse leaning against the end of the garage. 

“Hailey, Claire needs us back,” Jesse said quickly. 

Hailey frowned as she pulled herself away from Dick. “What for?”

“The thing,” Jesse stated. Hailey blinked at him, still confused.

“The thing,” Jesse said more urgently. He made a motion of pressing a button and then Hailey got it.

“Oh, that thing!” she said. “Right. Yeah. You ready to leave?”

Jesse nodded as Hailey turned around to face Dick. He was almost glaring at Jesse as his tongue poked the side of his cheek. 

“Sorry I have to go,” Hailey said, as she tilted her head slightly. Dick’s gaze jumped to her and he started waving his hands as he was dismissing something.

“Oh no. No, it’s okay. No, you’re fine. I uh… so I’ll see you at school then?” Hailey smiled and nodded. They stood for a little longer before Dick blinked at her.

“Don’t you have to go?” he asked.

Hailey chuckled. “You’re on my bike, Richard.” She had never seen a man jump so high so quickly; Dick shot off her bike, almost tripping as he stepped away from the vehicle. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled. Hailey laughed as she grabbed an extra helmet from the back compartment of the bike. She tossed the helmet to Jesse as she walked back in front of Dick. 

“Well thanks for having me,” Hailey said before her eye bugged out of her head, “US! Thanks for having us.”

Jesse snorted as he got on the bike. Both Hailey and Dick turned to glare at him before Dick spoke. “Thanks for coming. I was really glad you came.” The two of them grinned shyly at each other before Hailey made a split-second decision. She moved closer to Dick and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in close for a hug. She felt him tense before he relaxed and his hands fell naturally on her hips. Hailey giggled as she heard him gasp before readjusting his hands as if he didn’t think that having them on her hips was appropriate. Hailey pulled away to spare him the embarrassment. 

“Uh sorry about that,” Dick muttered, his head dropped low. “I didn’t mean-”

“It’s fine Dick,” Hailey laughed. “They were fine where they were, but I appreciate the thought.” Dick muttered something about Bruce and being a gentleman but he was interrupted by Jesse leaning into the bike’s horn.

“Hailey we need to go,” he whined. “Stop flirting with your boyfriend and let’s go.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Hailey grumbled as her ears heated up. 

“We weren’t flirting,” Dick agreed.

“Well whatever,” Jesse chuckled. “We still need to leave.” Hailey stuck her tongue out at him sourly.

“Text me your schedule when you get it,” Dick said. “We’ll compare classes.” Hailey nodded as she started her bike. The engine roared to life and she and her companion took off, leaving Dick in their dust.

“So when you are asking him out?” Jesse asked, his voice coming through the earpiece that Hailey had given him with the helmet. He had slipped it on while Dick was distracted with Hailey. 

“When I’m dead,” she responded. “Why would you assume any earlier?” Jesse poked her in the side as retaliation. 

“You poor pitiful woman,” he sighed. “But anyway, I got some new things I think you’ll like.”

“Such as?”

Though Hailey couldn’t see his face, she could feel the smile radiating off of Jesse as he wrapped his arms more securely around Hailey. “I added a taser.”

Hailey gasped. “No shit. I’ve been waiting for one.”

Jesse hummed at the praise. “And I’ve updated the software for your mask. You had it already pretty sound but I just tweaked a few things. Like your heat sensors aren’t janky anymore. And I expanded the telegraphic zoom range by fifty percent. And your eavesdropping protocol has been modified so it filters out excess noise a lot better.”

“Jesse,” Hailey stated as the pair of them finally pulled onto the freeway. “You. Are. The. Best.”

“Thank you,” Jesse said, his voice small but filled with pride and affirmation from the compliment. “You got any plans tonight?”

“I need to meet with Vicki Vale,” she said. “We have business to discuss.”


End file.
